Great Expectations Print

The astronaut in this painting represents a dreamer. She has always possessed a spirit of adventure and imagined a life spent exploring the unknown, pushing past the boundaries of human understanding, and experiencing the supernatural enchantment. 

The dreamer expected this would happen as an astronaut in the context of space. Instead, her story ended up in the ocean after a visit to Sea World, and now her days are spent adventurously exploring the unknown and experiencing enchantment in encounters with sea creatures. So...did this dreamer’s dream go unfulfilled?

Expectations are a thief of peace. They are predictions about what you think or hope will happen. Sometimes it’s little more than wishful thinking, but it could be an educated guess with actual data to back it up. And sometimes your prediction is correct and your expectations are met. But it’s still a prediction; one you might be making with a wildly insufficient lack of information.

When we become resentful of missed expectations, we are in danger of also missing other opportunities and blessings we didn’t see coming. 

Letting go of expectations is not about being pessimistic. If you want more peace in your life, don’t abandon hope. Don’t stop striving for greatness. Just stop putting faith in your predictions.