The sun sets on another day…and boy does the sun have it easy…
If you think about it, lots of “stuff” has it easy because it just happens. The sun rises, the sun flies across the sky, then the sun sets. No issues, no muss, not problem. Not exactly true with all of us is it? We all have certain expectations in life, the expectation of pay for work, that our mother loves us, our father protects us, and a million more. In the end it is my opinion our expectations get us into more trouble that we really need.
Why?
Easy. Let’s take Jack and Jill. They went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water? Why? Well, Jill was thirsty, and Jack wanted to make it right, so up the hill they go. (Or it could be Jack was thirsty and Jill was trying to make it right). Anyway, they get to the top of the hill, just to get water. their expectation is to get some ice cold Dasani and in the process not have to worry about being thirsty for a while. Happened though that Jack fell down, and broke his crown, fortunately it was insured, and he started rolling down the hill with a broken crown. His expectations of that ice cold water were crushed. Jill, being good, tumbled after, but she missed out on the water as well. The point is, they had an expectation, they fell though (Well Jack fell through) and ooops, expectations crushed. You know, Fred was next door and when he saw Jack and Jill at the bottom of the hill laughing because Jack was such a klutz, Fred gave them some water anyway so it turned out okay but it doesn’t for us all the time. We miss out on the raise, the good grade, the loving feeling, and a host of other silliness that defies the imagination.
(Yes, I am having fun today)
So what was the problem here? No problem at all except we set expectations and didn’t meet them. Imagine if the water was for Jack and Jill did not come through. Did Jack ask for the water? Should Jill have known? How many times are we in situations where someone says “Well you should have known” and we are sitting there like Jack, with a broken crown and a drink of Fred’s water.
This is the stuff jokes are made of, jokes, sitcoms, and a host of bad relationships. So what, right? Well I tell you “so what”, here is the clue. Pay attention to your expectations and communicate them. If you are with someone, look at them and think about their expectations, if you don’t feel like meeting them, maybe you are with the wrong person. If you do feel like meeting them, turn up the volume and do it. (Just do it) Better yet, lets skip expectations, and just communicate and be happy. Funny how that works.Â
So now, Jack and Jill are thirsty. Jack says to Jill, “I am a little parched” and Jill says “Me too my dear Jack, wanna go up the hill and get a pail of water?”, where Jack says “How about we just go over and ask Fred, he has an Aquafina distributorship and will hook us up and I can avoid spanking my crown again”, Jill just laughs and says “Good idea, the bucket has a hole in it anyway”, so they both communicate, know they are thirsty, and work it out together, and Fred, well Fred gets rich selling bottled water to people who can’t get up the hill.
So as the sun sets on another day, take a moment and look at the sky, and realize expectations are what they are, and the sun has it easy, remember that life is good, and we can all enjoy every moment if we manage our expectations with ourselves and with those around us.
Sleep sweet, love life, drink about 8 glasses of water a day, protect your crown, and love to the moon and back…