Great Expectations.

Great Expectations.

Quote:

“You are most powerful when you are most silent. People never expect silence. They expect words, motion, defence, offence, back and forth. They expect to leap into the fray. They are ready, fists up, words hanging leaping from their mouths. Silence? No.”
― Alison McGhee, All Rivers Flow To The Sea

Life has taught me something, the knowing of which has changed everything. Two roads lead to true happiness and contentment; manifest an improved reality, or lower my expectations.

Is it really possible to do either one effectively?

Can happiness ever be achieved in life by these roads?

Let's see.

At the outset we need to familiarize ourselves with some proper explanations of the terminology, so that we can develop a theme of transparency and better understanding of our chosen discussion topic.

Expectations:

expectation (ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən ) 

Definitions

noun

1. the act or state of expecting or the state of being expected
2. usually plural something looked forward to, whether feared or hoped for ⇒ we have great expectations for his future, their worst expectations
3. an attitude of expectancy or hope; anticipation ⇒ to regard something with expectation
4. (statistics)
   1. the numerical probability that an event will occur
   2. another term for expected value

Derived Forms

expectative (ɪkˈspɛktətɪv )  adjective

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry

= projection, supposition, assumption, calculation, belief, forecast, assurance, likelihood, probability, presumption, conjecture, surmise, presupposition

= anticipation, hope, possibility, prospect, chance, fear, promise, looking forward, excitement, prediction, outlook, expectancy, apprehension, suspense

= requirement, demand, want, wish, insistence, reliance

Quotations including 'expectation'

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
― Alexander Pope

“When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.”
― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

“If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Great:

great (ɡreɪt ) 

Definitions

adjective

1. relatively large in size or extent; big
2. relatively large in number; having many parts or members ⇒ a great assembly
3. of relatively long duration ⇒ a great wait
4. of larger size or more importance than others of its kind ⇒ the great auk
5. extreme or more than usual ⇒ great worry
6. of significant importance or consequence ⇒ a great decision
   1. of exceptional talents or achievements; remarkable ⇒ a great writer
   2. (as noun) ⇒ the great, one of the greats
8. arising from or possessing idealism in thought, action, etc; heroic ⇒ great deeds
9. illustrious or eminent ⇒ a great history
10. impressive or striking ⇒ a great show of wealth
11. much in use; favoured ⇒ poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era
12. active or enthusiastic ⇒ a great walker
13. doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale ⇒ what a great buffoon, he's not a great one for reading
14. often foll by at skilful or adroit ⇒ a great carpenter, you are great at singing
15. (informal) excellent; fantastic
16. (British, informal) (intensifier) ⇒ a dirty great smack in the face
17. postpositive foll by with (archaic)
    1. pregnant ⇒ great with child
    2. full (of) ⇒ great with hope
18. (intensifier, used in mild oaths) ⇒ Great Scott!
19. See be great on

adverb

20. (informal) very well; excellently ⇒ it was working great

noun

21. Also called: great organ. the principal manual on an organ Compare choir (sense 4), swell (sense 16)

Derived Forms

ˈgreatly adverb

ˈgreatness noun

Word Origin

Old English grēat; related to Old Frisian grāt, Old High German grōz; see grit, groat

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry

= large, big, huge, vast, enormous, extensive, tremendous, immense, gigantic, mammoth, bulky, colossal, prodigious, stupendous, voluminous, fuck-off, elephantine, ginormous, humongous or humungous, GR8, supersize,

= extreme, considerable, excessive, high, decided, pronounced, extravagant, prodigious, inordinate, GR8

= major, lead, leading, chief, main, capital, grand, primary, principal, prominent, superior, paramount, big-time, major league, GR8

= important, serious, significant, critical, crucial, heavy, grave, momentous, weighty, consequential, GR8,

= famous, celebrated, outstanding, excellent, remarkable, distinguished, prominent, glorious, notable, renowned, eminent, famed, illustrious, exalted, noteworthy, GR8

= expert, skilled, talented, skilful, good, able, masterly, crack, superb, world-class, adept, stellar, superlative, proficient, adroit, GR8,

= excellent, good, fine, wonderful, mean, topping, cracking, superb, fantastic, tremendous, marvellous, terrific, mega, sovereign, awesome, dope, admirable, first-rate, def, brill, boffo, bitchin', chillin', GR8, jim-dandy, booshit, exo, sik, rad, phat, schmick, beaut, barrie, belting, pearler,

= very, really, particularly, truly, extremely, awfully, exceedingly, GR8

= utter, complete, total, absolute, perfect, positive, downright, consummate, unqualified, out-and-out, flagrant, egregious, unmitigated, thoroughgoing, arrant, GR8

= enthusiastic, keen, active, devoted, zealous, GR8

= long, extended, prolonged, lengthy, protracted, GR8

= noble, fine, august, grand, princely, impressive, distinguished, glorious, heroic, dignified, sublime, lofty, idealistic, exalted, high-minded, magnanimous, chivalrous, GR8,

Quotations about 'expectation'

“If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask... with nothing beneath it?”
― Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes

“When someone sees the same people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary, they wind up becoming a part of that person's life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“The secret self knows the anguish of our attachments and assures us that letting go of what we think we must have to be happy is the same as letting go of our unhappiness.”
― Guy Finley

So here are a few quotations by other authors, that prevail upon this topic, I chose to show a range of ideas of relevant importance in its understanding. We can take heart from the evident thought, that something can be done by us to change the reality we face. A certain course of action that can lead us closer to the happiness we desire, as clearly defined by many learned people, who have come to these conclusions from many different life experiences. I venture they range from both sides of the spectrum of supposed success. 

 

Road 1.

Manifest an improved reality.

Has life been good to you? Does it match up to your ideas about what is a proof of your success?

Basically I have noticed one common thread in both of these questions that I have personally posed, to be reviewed through my years here on earth. Me...! I am the constant in these questions because it is from my perspective that I have any real connection with experience. Likewise you the reader will possibly have had the same thoughts, feelings and signals as to who it matters to. We can of course share our experiences with one another, as I am doing now, and take comfort that we are not alone in these experiences of 'suffering'.

What has come to me over the past two decades is that my life is an illusion. Basically I am kidding myself that I am here at all. This is some kind of a dream, surely to god. If it weren't a dream, then why can't I change the dream to be more happy and fulfilled experience? The truth is; I can.....

I'm not sure where this quotation came from but it is very relevant to the topic here.

“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always received. (Gotten)”

In other words, (as I like using words, you may have guessed) “the results of your choices will not change, until you change your choices”.

I hope that we can all begin to comprehend the significance of this statement in its fundamental truth. Evidently we as a species are destroying our planet. Some argue against this, but our recent discoveries of global warming, CO2 emissions, other resource abuse has been overwhelming. This is also true of our own personal lives too. We have been causing our own unhappiness and 'suffering', because of our blindness as to what would happen as a result of the choices we made. If you think about this seriously, you may conclude like me, that on an individual level we have all contributed to the larger and global problems. Be they environmental concerns and issues or the more closer to home consciousness patterns of our joint thinking. Societies are changing because we seek change. Revolutions are happening all over the place because we desire a fairer world with equality for everyone, even if that initially resulted in more for a few. Our evolution of consciousness like other evolutions is an ongoing one. What we individually seek, becomes manifest in the global forum when enough of us realise what we aspire to is similar. So the old adage comes back into mind. “Be careful what you wish for”.

The second road has more reasoning to share with us. If we are ready and open to discuss the possible values of change in this regard.

Road 2.

Lower my expectations.

Many of us complain that life is treating us unfairly. That we are suffering because of exterior circumstances and a 'lack' of 'things', be they material or circumstantial. But have we truly looked at the effects of our choices to glean an insight as to the causes of this supposed suffering? We are all ultimately responsible for what happens to us, whether we accept this or not. We do that blame shifting thing, where we become a victim of others actions and scheming. However this will not help us in the ways of accepting a truth that can free us from the self inflicted misery and burden. I'm not saying it is easy to rationalise the part in our own life which has caused us to suffer. But if we are being honest, we can better see how the lack of clear judgement in our choosing things can have affected the resultant experience. Add to that our level of expectation about the outcome and we have almost perfectly reasoned the way certain events occurred and the emotional distress and anxiety returning to us.

A quick example:

You plan a Barbecue for your friends and family. You have checked the weather reports and all seems to be clear and dry for the weekend. Saturday come but the weather begins to turn sour and a strong wind builds which during the party suddenly rips the gazebo of the floor and you watch it sail into the neighbours garden. Then the rain begins and the lovely spread of food you put out becomes deluged in a thunder storm. People are flying about to help save the food and rush indoors but in the end it is a complete and utter disaster. Do you feel like a failure? That life has treated you unfairly? That your friends would think this of you?

In this example I see some very positive things occurring. Firstly, that you wanted to bring a group of people together to enjoy the sharing of each others company. That you wanted to share your material things with these people, the best reason to have anything. And that your love of kindness was being projected out into the wider world.

The negatives I'm sure we can all agree are quite obvious, but what would have caused the 'suffering', or the 'lack' felt by the host?

I will leave you the reader to ascertain the balance between the positives and the negatives, but I will make an observation on our example case.

The host was gambling on the weather, which we all have experiences to share that tell us this is never a guaranteed outcome. They were also concluding that others would not see the events as they were and realise it was no slight on their attempts to share the day with them. The 'suffering' was caused by an assumption that they could have anything more than a modicum of control over the circumstances of experience, let alone the elements of nature. A clear evidence of a great expectation, an unreasonable determining of the outcomes of events in life. We often attract the opposite of our expectations however well intentioned they might be, because we feel as though we should be able to expect them. We attract what we fear if we live in fear of it.

I know this may seem a little excessive as an observation to some, but please let it be absorbed into your thinking and match it up to your own future experiences. In this way we will become more attuned to the subtleties of our expectations, and the level of success we shall feel as a result. No battle was ever easily won. The battle with our expectations will be a long and drawn out one. But if we seek peace, harmony and happiness then it will be one worth fighting for. 

 

As a community, locally and globally can we not try something that we as a species have never really tried before? Something so simple it can be done the very next time you take a breath, the very next time you meet another human being. The very next time you have an opportunity to interact with nature.

Let's give PEACE a chance...!!!

My expectation is simple, therefore I give it a chance to become my reality. Little by little we can improve on our life experiences if we make our expectation levels more easily attainable.

As for me, I offer you all this song, one that I wrote in conjunction with my family. A song that I hope will one day be sung throughout the world, to share the message of peace and love, as have so many before.

This shall be my Great Expectation.

Courage to be Daring.

Love, peace and light to all.

Peaceful Warrior.