I’ve been spending time with old phone photos lately, trying to delete duplicates and bad photos to clear up some space. It is a fun walk through memories but it also has been a good reminder of the times in my adventures that I have said yes and benefited from it. 

One of those reminders was a collection of pictures from a petting zoo/farm in Ohio’s Amish Country back in 2022. I was out driving country roads, looking for some slice of authentic Amish life, when I ran into traffic backed up from construction. Traffic had slowed to a creep when I noticed a sign for this business and, without knowing a single thing about the place, bailed from my meandering and turned into their driveway. 

I forked over some cash through my car window and joined a small horde of people who were there to look around an Amish farm and pet some exotic animals. I have no idea where folks think zebras, buffalo and giraffes fit in with the homemade bread and bonnets but that’s ok.

It was a fun time anyway and I truly enjoyed hopping on a horse drawn wagon full of strangers for a tour of the property and animals. 

Honestly, I can’t tell you much about that day. It was a beautiful October day. The basement of the home had shelves lined with canned vegetables that reminded me of my grandma’s kitchen. I spoke with a young Amish woman who was baking cookies and who was wistful about being stuck inside on a pretty day. Children hand fed some of the friendlier animals and one especially friendly buffalo attempted to steal my bag. 

It’s not something I would have seen in a brochure and said “that’s for me!” Yet, I had a nice time and only found my way there because I said yes. At the time, I really thought I was just saying no to sitting in traffic but, turns out I was learning a valuable lesson about the power of saying yes to opportunity. 

And this is just one example of all the wonderful experiences I’ve had just because I gave something a chance. It’s easier to do that on vacation but it’s important to do it sometimes in your daily life too.

After all, what do you have to lose?