A recent group trip to Italy was a wonderful adventure, with so much to experience, but there were parts of the trip that didn’t go quite as planned.

I’ll share two of them.

First, the trip began with the strike of the Lufthansa Cabin Crew. That resulted in our second flight, the one from Frankfurt to Rome, being canceled. All 32 of us had to be re-booked. That meant some of the group were no longer able to make our first flight, since the second flight they were able to re-book on was not out of Frankfurt. Some passengers were re-routed through Amsterdam, and others through Paris. It was complicated and resulted in the group splitting up into many smaller groups. Some of our group did not land in Rome until more than 12 hours after the initial landing time, and a few lost luggage for a day.

A second thing that happened was the flood in Venice.

Flooding is common in Venice. The tide comes in, the canals spill over, the streets flood, sometimes the water enters hotels, shops and restaurants. This flood, however, was more intense.

The water levels rose higher than they have in many years, starting around 9:30 p.m. Three of us from the group stayed up to see what would happen. After awhile, water started coming in the hotel as it had risen enough to exit the canals and flood the streets.

The hotels and stores put all the ground-level furniture up on risers and put barricades in the doorways. Before long, water was rushing in over the tops of the barriers. By 2:30 a.m., the water in our hotel on the ground floor was about 18 inches deep. Then, much more quickly than it came in, it went away. And the three of us went to bed. The water rose again, not as high, starting around 9:30 the next morning. The flooding impacted our trip. We were not able to take the Gondola rides, many of the shops were closed because they were cleaning up, and, to get anywhere, we had to wade through 12 or more inches of water with fun plastic boots over our own shoes.

Neither experience was ideal, but both experiences left us with stories to tell. I’ve traveled enough to know that things happen. Flights get delayed or canceled. Luggage gets lost. Weather impacts plans. People get sick. Roads may be closed.

Lots of things can happen, and there is often not much you can do about it other than chill out, make the most of the experience, and go with the flow.

This trip was a great reminder that, sometimes, things happen that are out of our control. And, when it does, we should remember a few things.

First, keep in mind the real cause of the issue. The canceled flights, for example, were not the fault of the ticket counter workers, the pilots, or of another airline. It was not the fault of other passengers. I saw some passengers taking their frustration out on people who weren’t to blame, like the ticket counter agents. I think we are all guilty of that. I know I have done it.

Frustrations can run high. Paired with lack of sleep and other stresses, we sometimes lash out at others. But practicing calmness is a valuable thing. Being kind to people, especially when what is happening is nothing they caused or can do much about, is also valuable.

Second, when things happen outside of our control, we should remember to look at it with a perspective of adventure. The flooding in Venice added a hiccup to our trip, but, if we look at it with the perspective that it was an adventure we would never forget, and an experience not many people will ever have, the interruption it caused to our trip was quite minimal.

Sometimes, we need to recognize the reminders life offers us.

Reminders to practice being kind, gracious, forgiving, understanding, and loving. Reminders that the world is about more than just us, that we get to choose our attitude and our perspective, and that our words and actions influence others more than we realize. Italy was a great trip, with so many wonderful memories.

But it was great as a reminder as well.

I am grateful for a trip that didn’t go perfectly as planned because it allowed me to practice more of the person I strive to be.

Where would the adventure and learning be if everything always went exactly as expected?

Jackie Krawczak is president/CEO of the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce. Her column runs biweekly on Thursdays. Follow Jackie on Twitter @jkrawczak.