Expecting and Accepting

 

Expecting and Accepting

Expecting and accepting are two sides of the same coin of life, expectations raise desires and wants, leading to stress, tension and illness whereas acceptance leads you to peace, serenity and joy. It is for us to decide which side of the coin is good for us. Expectations linked to ambition for achieving education goals and career goals are fine as long as you don’t attach a mental compulsion to it saying that if this goal is not achieved it will be the end of the world! Everything on earth happens for a reason and hence it is important to accept the result of one’s efforts, even though the result is not what one expected it to be!

When we expect something, it is mostly to do with the material world and anything to do with the material world always has one’s ego playing a role. I want this, I can do this, etc – expectations are feelings which never end. We keep expecting more and more throughout our life as we keep shifting the goalpost further and further away, as we keep achieving our set goals. We move up in life, we succeed, we become wealthy – but we want to go higher, have greater success and more wealth – this is a never-ending journey and one fine day you realise that you are old and have so much more to do – and for that unfinished business you take birth all over again.

On the other hand, unfulfilled expectations and goals lead us into depression or lead us astray as we try to achieve our goals through unfair means which later become downright illegal, just to satisfy the ego that I have done it! Here the means do not matter as you are only focused on the end. Suppose, one has not achieved what one set out to do, if you accept that you failed, then you try and try again till you succeed. This makes you a stronger and a more complete person.

Learning to accept the results that the universe throws at you early in life, will make you a more accepting as well as a more giving person. This is easier to understand and comprehend when you are spiritual by nature. On the path of spirituality, practising meditation and mindfulness, acceptance becomes second nature as you learn to go with the flow. The ego gets subdued and a life lived as a witness in complete awareness is the result. Life has its ups and downs, but you never lose equilibrium as you are in a zone which accepts rather than expects. This transformation becomes complete as you submit to the higher powers and make acceptance a way of life – this frees you from mental pressure, brings joy and peace in life and makes you radiate your contentment for the world to see.