I never realized how much expectation I have had over the years. As a natural born or conditioned caretaker, I have been challenged throughout my life to be true to myself. It became especially challenging when I was told about my healing gifts and in particular when my greatest love, my husband became ill.

 

Expectation stops the preciousness of the moment. It takes us out of the present moment and keeps us from the natural flow of life. If you are thinking about what could have happened, or what will happen, you can not be in the here and now. We can not focus on two things at once. It simply is not possible. Watch your thoughts and begin a practice of single minded focus. The more grounded we are, the better we are able to practice presence. When something appears to go array, take a break and breathe. Allow the breath to bring you back to presence. Maybe all the hurt and pain is only there because you are allowing expectation to take you out of the moment.

 

Focus on your love. The love of life, love of yourself, and love of those dear to your heart. Allow people to be in your life as they are, not as you want them to be. This can be very challenging for most of us. We all grow up with a certain amount of conditioning and these family patterns can be a challenge to break. This is especially difficult with our significant other or children. However, once we learn to drop the expectation, our lives can open and bloom way beyond our wildest imagination.

 

I never realized how much of my life I have spent expecting this or that, until one day recently, an old friend of mine said, “I always expect nothing from anyone. Then when the phone rang today with an offer to go to the movies, I thanked him for the call but chose to stay at home as I was tired.” He expressed how grateful he was that someone reached out to think of him on that day. I thought to myself, how very simple that is. Maybe all the times I have gotten upset with my husband or family, is because I expect something from them. Could this be true?

 

Check yourself and make sure your intensions come from the heart and not from a place of lack. If you want something in return, you have attached an expectation to it. If you expect a certain reaction, there is expectation. If you want to feel a certain way after speaking with a friend, then expectation is in the air. Let go of the desire to receive something in a specific manner.

 

A beautiful saying comes from the rap artist, Maclemore from his song titled Vipassana. ”Expectation is resentment waiting to happen” Have you ever noticed the disappointment you feel when something does not turn out how you expect it could have? Maybe there is a reason that something is being withheld in the manner it is. We often feel let down when we plan something and it turns out quite different then we thought it would. To be able to practice presence and feel the fullness of the moment is a gift.

Expectation drains our energy. Every time you expect something to come to you in a certain format, you create a breeding ground for disappointment.

 

Expectation stops manifestation. If we focus on the future or how something might turn out, we miss the opportunity to experience the “gift of presence”. I am blessed with some beautiful conscious people in my life who are able to share presence with me. I continue to work on the practice of presence every day and find it challenging with so much uncertainty with this “global plandemic”. When I get caught in the fear based news I remind myself of my breath and remember to come back to it. Let us remember, drop the expectation and allow life to flow.