Expectations
My spiritual intention for today is to notice how often I impose expectations on others and even on non-living things such as this computer, my car, and especially the coffee maker! Those expectations, especially with other people, frequently result in damage to the relationship. Expectations get in the way of unconditional love. Even if I think that I unconditionally love another my imposed expectations can make them feel as if it is conditional.
I think I was 27 years old when I first had the ah ha moment regarding expectations. I kept waiting for my mother to be the person I thought she could be and no matter how much I conditioned my love on those expectations she remained the bright, hardworking, good person she was. I chose to focus on her anger and what I experienced as her conditional love. I am not sure what happened to make me realize or to accept that the only power I had was to attempt to practice unconditional love for her, but I do recall that ah ha or forehead hand slapping moment when I realized the problem was me and not her. Thee was nothing wrong with my mother. Of course, she was human and had her own issues. Yet, at 27 I no longer needed her to validate my worth. Not only did I not need her to do that, but it was my job to validate myself and to work on being the best I could be.
I have not been 27 years old for many years – 62 years to be exact – and I am still at the stage of spiritual development of noticing when I preface my love with expectations. It seems as if I will have to live to be older than Methuselah. He was purported to have lived 969 years. Mercy!
For today I will continue to be intentional about noticing my expectations of others; the fact that even while I am advising them to bring the focus back to themselves I am focusing on what others are doing or not doing.
Daily spiritual intentions do not bring me to perfection, but they do bring me back to a focus on what I can to today . Today I can strive to come a little closer to loving myself and others unconditionally.
Written November 26, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
My spiritual intention for today is to notice how often I impose expectations on others and even on non-living things such as this computer, my car, and especially the coffee maker! Those expectations, especially with other people, frequently result in damage to the relationship. Expectations get in the way of unconditional love. Even if I think that I unconditionally love another my imposed expectations can make them feel as if it is conditional.
I think I was 27 years old when I first had the ah ha moment regarding expectations. I kept waiting for my mother to be the person I thought she could be and no matter how much I conditioned my love on those expectations she remained the bright, hardworking, good person she was. I chose to focus on her anger and what I experienced as her conditional love. I am not sure what happened to make me realize or to accept that the only power I had was to attempt to practice unconditional love for her, but I do recall that ah ha or forehead hand slapping moment when I realized the problem was me and not her. Thee was nothing wrong with my mother. Of course, she was human and had her own issues. Yet, at 27 I no longer needed her to validate my worth. Not only did I not need her to do that, but it was my job to validate myself and to work on being the best I could be.
I have not been 27 years old for many years – 62 years to be exact – and I am still at the stage of spiritual development of noticing when I preface my love with expectations. It seems as if I will have to live to be older than Methuselah. He was purported to have lived 969 years. Mercy!
For today I will continue to be intentional about noticing my expectations of others; the fact that even while I am advising them to bring the focus back to themselves I am focusing on what others are doing or not doing.
Daily spiritual intentions do not bring me to perfection, but they do bring me back to a focus on what I can to today . Today I can strive to come a little closer to loving myself and others unconditionally.
Written November 26, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
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