I got a taste of my own medicine today, some bittersweet medicine, the kind that sort of burns when you choke it down but ultimately it’s all for the better. The advice and inspirational words of motivation that I’m always offering up came right back at me, in the form of a canceled ferry and missing out on a 5-Star hotel—reminding me that I, too, need to take my own advice and go with the flow.

So here’s the situation: I lugged my suitcase and big Mary Poppins bag to the Positano shore to catch the 5pm ferry to Capri, where I was so looking forward to staying at the Grand Qvisisana Hotel. However, when I arrived at the booth, they announced that all ferries were canceled for the evening due to bad weather.

A handful of vulgarities trickled from my mouth. I wheeled my luggage to the nearest bench and sat overlooking the ocean. Taking a moment to consider the options, these were my possible solutions:

A: Catch a bus from Positano to Sorrento and then take a ferry from Sorrento to Capri.

B: Hike back up the 500 something stairs while carrying luggage and stay at the same hostel (but change beds – because I got bit by bed bugs last night!)

C: Cry on the beach and give up on the adventure.

I wasn’t sure that I would make it to Sorrento in time to catch the last ferry to Capri—and in the off chance that that occurred, I had no place to stay in Sorrento. Realizing the most practical option would be to head back to the hostel and change rooms, I looked out into the choppy waves and reminded myself that even though a storm was approaching, the water would return to its calm state soon enough.

Then I felt a raindrop on the tip of my nose. In that moment of catharsis, I kid you not, it started pouring rain. Overlooking the ocean, hair a tangled and wet mess, I took a deep breath and whispered, “thank you.” I grabbed my luggage and began to ascend the colossal staircase. Around halfway, I started to laugh at how ludicrous the situation was, saying out loud to myself, “It’s all part of the adventure.” Looking like a wet dog, I arrived back at the hostel, requested a new room and got all cozied up in a sweatshirt.

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.