Expect Nothing, Receive Everything
Day 76: When you drop expectations of others, your world opens
Yesterday while I was typing away on my laptop, my husband brought in a mysterious box. It was for me! I was elated because I wasn’t expecting anything. I opened it up, and it was a beautiful coffee table book called: Zero: A New Approach to Non-Alcoholic Drinks, by Chef Grant Achatz and his team. I was so touched by this surprise! My husband had ordered me this book, knowing that I would have a blast reading it and trying the recipes. Two years ago we had the honor of being able to go to Alinea, in Chicago, one of the restaurants where these drinks were created. This book brings back special memories, wonder, and joy! I just love discovering all of the miracles on my path on my 100-day spiritual journey exploring the book: Letting Go, by David R. Hawkins.
I absolutely love surprises! I believe that when we truly let go and accept everything just as it is, we have the possibility of receiving more than we expect. The universe is always flowing with miracles, all around us. When we let go of outcomes and expectations, we allow surprises to enter into our reality.
When we stop pressuring others with our expectations, we create an opening for them spontaneously to respond positively to us. -David R. Hawkins
It is normal to have expectations of others. We have personal expectations of how people should act and how relationships should go. On top of that, society shows us what an ideal relationship should look like, whether it is a romantic relationship, a friendship, our relationships with parents, siblings, or other loved ones.
I personally struggled with how relationships with family members should be. I had certain expectations based on what society portrays in the media, as well as comparisons with how others in my social circle related to their family. This caused me to feel negativity towards family members that were not meeting my expectations.
Recently, I was able to let go of how I thought they should be, or how they should act toward me. This surrender of expectation not only brings me great personal freedom, but it also allows me to love them without condition. Sometimes those expectations may resurface. However, when they do, I will be more aware of my actions.
Expectation of others is a form of emotional blackmail. We can feel our resistance when others pull for certain emotional “goods” from us. We can get away from being emotionally blackmailed by looking at how we do it with others, and then, we can let go of wanting to manipulate their emotional responses toward us. -David R. Hawkins
Now, every time I choose just to love and give instead of expecting, my heart grows. My inner being calls to me to be generous with my love and my abundance. This is a beautiful way to live. It allows you to be free and open to life.
My prayer and my intention for you today is for you to look at how you expect others to be. Can you allow them to just be who they are, without expectation? Can you freely love them exactly how they are?
What expectations will you let go of today?
I am tagging my fellow writers here who are following along on this journey so that I may share this path with them: Art Bram, Noma Dek, Bob Jasper, Tree Langdon, Rasheed Hooda, Michele Thill, Charlotte Zobeir Ali, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Aurora Eliam, CMP, Dr John Rose, Amy Marley, Taha Abbas, Henery X (long), Suntonu Bhadra, Chowa Sekai, Terry Mansfield, Tony Young, Jr., KeepingitrealwithAnnick, Jessica Cote, Sumera Rizwan and many more! Thank you Illumination Family!
Trista Signe Ainsworth is a professional organizer with Joyful Minimalism. She helps working women clear the clutter, overwhelm, and shame from their homes and lives so that they can truly live in joy.
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