Eliminating "Expectation" ... the beginning of being free!

I have had a number of interesting conversations recently regarding relationships ... good and bad ... and I have to admit, relationships are undoubtedly the most challenging aspect of being human. I've surmised that the reason for this is that even if you lived like a hermit, you would have a relationship with yourself. So if you don't love or even like yourself or you don't get along with yourself, you'll still have difficulty living with yourself. Living on my own has taught me this ... when you spend a lot of time with your own thoughts, you can influence yourself in a big way to think negatively (which is often easier) than to think positively about yourself. Too often in this world, a level of "expectation" (the dreaded word) is placed upon us ... from the moment we are conceived to the day we die, other people will project their expectations of how your life should be, could be and would be, if only you lived it their way, thought the way they think and behaved the way they behave. We all do it to each other, everyone is guilty of having at least some expectation of someone else. The unfortunate and often sad truth about the subject of "expectation", is that inevitably, almost undoubtedly, it is guaranteed that you will be disappointed because that person on whom you have placed your own limiting expectation, will be unable to meet it in the way that you initially expected them to ... and even if they do reach the level of expectation, you can almost certainly be sure that they will be unable to sustain it. Why? Because it was never their expectation in the first place and they were not acting out of self actualisation or realisation, but out of obligation to please you!

Get rid of expectation and you will free the people you love to be exactly who they are meant to be. I should clarify that in saying what I have said, I don't mean that we should pursue lawlessness or have liberty to go wild and create havoc. I also don't believe this means that you have to be a doormat or to accept bad behaviour or even abusive behaviour. I do however believe that you need to set your own boundaries and limitations for yourself, that relate specifically to yourself and in this way, you will know when to walk away from something or someone that does not allow you to be free too. It's not an easy thing to explain what I am really thinking ... just ponder it for a while ... and see how it takes effect in you ... eliminate expectation from your life and be free!