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Hope is a tough word. It implies expectations! So I prefer to consider Contentment.
How does one have hope without expectations? The answer lies in our faith. I believe if we have faith in ourselves and in our daily life, we can embrace hope without expectations. As we live life to do the next best thing that we believe is possible and have faith in our capacity to do this, we will not only serve others, but we can also serve ourselves. Is it not sensible to believe that by having faith and hope each day, we will more likely be able to serve ourselves AND each other daily? If the day ends and we were not able to do all we wished to accomplish that day, it is important to remember that tomorrow is another day. Without expectations, we can realize and have faith in the knowledge that we live our life to its potential and can trust that we do this as often as possible each day. With this faith and hope each day, and without expectations, life is about LIFE, not our agenda. In living life on life's terms, not on our own agenda, what often follows is that we are content with our life for the moment, and this can enable us each day to embrace the opportunity to build on that moment of acceptance, because here we are - in the moment - as often as possible, appreciating all it has to offer us. If we live in the moment of our life, it can enfold us and enable us to build upon this feeling of being content in the moment and over time with this practice, it can build into hours of contentment, as the day progresses. For me this is a challenging concept, but it is a certain goal. Being in the moment for me means an awareness of “where am I?” Am I happy, frustrated, sad, angry? Accepting where I am in the moment is vital and very hard as it means embracing my emotions in the moment and not passing judgment upon them but accepting them as mine and honoring them. This gives me the opportunity to even change my mind. One of my favorite adages is change your mind, change your life. What a concept when it comes to emotions as they so often can create our mind-set! I for one, have lived my life in the future, not in the moment. It is part of who I am. This historically has involved a lot of planning and creating magical plans that work for me and for those I care about. BUT, to have goals and dreams does not mean we have to live in the future. It can mean we live in the present and enjoy all we can reap and enjoy in the moment while we strive for any future goals. Whoa, now that is a mouthful. My life has ALWAYS been about goals and dream scaping the future. Over time, I have thankfully learned that when I am present for the moment as often as possible there is much to learn in the day through life and those life lessons throughout the day. I also just turned 60 years old and have honestly focused on this for decades and am grateful to feel it is settling into my DNA, finally!! Do you see why expectations defeat this concept?
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