A Playlist For Times When We’re Pleasantly Surprised

In times of doom and gloom, it’s tempting to cover our heads, hold still, and anticipate the very worst. And then sometimes when we come up for air, expecting the sky to have fallen entirely…we’re surprised. In a good way. No, it’s not like we overreacted to the original set of circumstances, and it’s not like while we were ducking and covering the world was magically dotted with rainbow sprinkles. But once in a while, we emerge from our crusty little cocoons to find some nugget of goodness.

Maybe we’ve developed new skills. Maybe we’ve found an unexpected connection with someone cool. Maybe it’s just a radically different perspective on something or other. Maybe it fell short of what we were aspiring to, but still didn’t completely suck. However it pops up, it’s important to recognize when the universe says “You’ve been getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Maybe this will help.”

And so, here is a list of tunes that speak to this kind of unforeseen bonus. May we all stumble across one of them now and then.

• Thank You, by Alanis Morisette

• Three Little Birds, by Bob Marley

• You Can’t Always Get What You Want, by The Rolling Stones

• In My Mind, by Amanda Palmer

• I’m All Over It, by Jamie Cullum

• 100 Bad Days, by AJR

• Beauty In The World, by Macy Gray

• Family Of Me, by Ben Folds

• Make Your Own Kind of Music, by Cass Elliott

• Middle of The Road, by The Pretenders

• Handle With Care, by The Traveling Wilburys