Potential Causes Our Greatest Disappointments

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 11:36 am by Ambaa Choate

Potential Causes Our Greatest Disappointments 2016-02-08T11:36:24-05:00 Ambaa Choate

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It’s interesting to notice that if we had no expectations for the future then we would never be disappointed.

I wonder if enlightened people living purely in the present moment experience bliss in part because there is nothing for them to feel disappointment over. I also wonder if it even makes sense for that to be a goal.

It seems rather inhuman to not place expectation and hope in the future. For example I think death of a loved one wouldn’t be upsetting if we weren’t thinking about everything they are missing out on in their future and what we would be missing out on in sharing that future with them. Miscarriage wouldn’t be upsetting if it wasn’t taking away our expectation of what this child’s future life was going to be and what our future life was going to be with him or her.

On the positive side, if we didn’t have expectations for our children’s futures then if they were born with a severe disability it wouldn’t be devastating to parents because we wouldn’t be planning out what their future looked like and they could create their own future.

But I can’t imagine life without the delicious feeling of anticipation of something good coming in our future.

Perhaps, as with most things, there is a balance to be found. We can enjoy our hope for the future while also being aware that things may not go as planned and one can learn to go with the flow rather than being devastated when things don’t go as we expect.

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