Expectations

Our expectations about life can be sad, amusing and downright perplexing. Joyce Carol Oates said,

"for nothing is ever what you expect it will be, nor is it quite like anything else." We tend to build

our hopes, dreams, our world if you will on expectations and then we are devastated when it all turns out not quite how we expected it to.

Letting go of expectations is as hard a task as letting go of judgement. Parents expect their children to become/achieve what they didn't, lovers expect romance to last forever, we expect a doctor to cure us, a teacher to teach us,we expect those we love to never disappoint.

Letting go is not giving up hope or dreams, but letting go is giving ourselves freedom. Letting go of expectations allows the freedom to embrace what is taking place right now in our lives. For instance, say you go to a restaurant with nothing but steak on your mind, they're out of steak but they have the finest lobster in the world, are you going to dwell on the fact that they have no steak, and miss out on the lobster or are you going to relish the lobster?

Allowing yourself the freedom to be in the moment is an incredible luxury but also a necessity for a life that is peaceful, powerful and rich. When we let our expectations rob us of life's experiences, rob us of spontaneous joy and adventure, we have cheated ourselves. When we meet someone for the very first time, and all we see in them is what we expected.........then we may have lost out on a good friend, a lifetime partner, a wonderful teacher. Think of the times that you met someone, say a banker or computer programmer the conversation was probably kind but maybe you were thinking "they're exactly what I expected", what if when you were introduced, you were told they were artists, or world travelers, would you expect more?

When you get up in the morning and expect to have a bad day, do you? If you travel someplace new do you expect people to be kind or rude? Do you let your expectations rule your life?

Just one time tomorrow, tell your self to let go of expectations..........just go to work and do your job moment by moment, go shopping and experience all the sounds, colors and smells,

sit down and eat, and actually taste your food. Don't expect good or bad, just be there in the moment and experience what is taking place, without expectations.