There is an old story about how the Allies decided to take over a certain tropical island as a base after World War II. They brought in three officers to manage the operation – a German, an American and a Japanese. Supervision over day-to-day operations was assigned to the German, human resources to the American, and supplies to the Japanese. For several months the three officers were left to run the base on their own. Then one day a general came by to check the status of the operations. He posted a message to the effect that he wished to speak with all three officers on the day of his arrival.

At the meeting he asked the German for a rundown of the daily schedule. With typical German efficiency, the officer immediately produced a file with printed documentation for the entire time period. The general then asked the American about human resources, and the American presented him with a flowchart of goals and accomplishments for all workers on the island.

The general was fully satisfied with their efficiency and analyses of the situation. He then looked around for the Japanese officer, who was nowhere to be found. Puzzled, the general questioned the others: “So where’s that Japanese chap?”

Somewhat flustered, they replied, “We don’t really know … we haven’t seen him since the first day of the assignment.”

For lack of a better option, they offered to take the general on a grand tour of the island. Suddenly, as they entered a dense forest, the Japanese officer jumped out at them. Waving his hands vigorously, he smiled and shouted to the general, “Supplise!”

In general, life is full of surprises. The biggest surprise by far is that life’s ability to surprise us is what supplies us with the capacity to hope and the will to move forward.

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