Finding Joy In Life's Surprises [Releasing Your Expectations]

September 19, 2009

Finding Joy In Life's Surprises

Releasing Your Expectations

As we endeavor to find personal fulfillment and realize our individual

ideals, we naturally form emotional attachments to those outcomes we

hope will come to pass. These expectations can serve as a source of

stability, allowing us to draft plans based on our visions of the

future, but they can also limit our potential for happiness by blinding

us to equally satisfying yet unexpected outcomes. Instead of taking

pleasure in the surprising circumstances unfolding around us, we mourn

for the anticipation left unfulfilled. When we think of letting go of

our expectations, we may find ourselves at the mercy of a small inner

voice that admonishes us to strive for specific goals, even if they

continually elude us. However, the opposite of expectation is not

pessimism. We can retain our optimism and free ourselves from the need

to focus on specific probabilities by opening our hearts and minds to a

wide variety of possible outcomes.

When we expect a situation, event, or confrontation to unfold in a

certain way, it becomes more difficult to enjoy the surprises that have

the potential to become profound blessings. Likewise, we may feel that

we failed to meet our inner objectives because we were unable to bring

about the desired results through our choices and actions. Consider,

though, that we are all at the mercy of the universal flow, and our

best intentions are often thwarted by fate. As you grow increasingly

open to unforeseen outcomes, you will be more apt to look for and

recognize the positive elements of your new circumstances. This

receptivity to the unexpected can serve you well when you are called

upon to compromise with others, your life plans seem to go awry, or the

world moves forward in an unanticipated manner by granting you the

flexibility to see the positive aspects of almost any outcome.

The further you distance yourself from your expectations, the more

exhilarating your life will become. Though a situation in which you

find yourself may not correspond to your initial wants, needs, or

goals, ask yourself how you can make the most of it and then do your

best to adapt. Your life's journey will likely take many unpredicted

and astonishing twists because you are willing to release your

expectations.

Daily OM

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