The word that comes to mind as I write this blog post- "expectations".
We can't help but have expectations for every single thing that we do in life. It could be as simple as expectations for what your coffee will taste like in the morning. What a new album is going to sound like. How the touch of the ocean will feel on your toes. How a dress will look when you try it on. How an old friend smells. These are simple expectations for how things will work. How our senses will be affected by the world each day.
Sometimes it is bigger--expectations that we cannot attribute to our five senses. We have expectations for our life. We have expectations for how a relationship is going to work out. For what age you are going to get married. How a friend will treat you. How a promotion will make you feel. How you will perform on a test. How your doctor's appointment will go.
All this anticipation for how we are going to feel and how circumstances are going to play out actually take away from living in the MOMENT.
I recently was pointed out by a third party that I restrain myself from being overly enthusiastic because of the fear of getting hurt. The fear that my expectations will not be met and I will be let down. Expectations for love. For happiness. For intimacy. For success. We fear that having high expectations will lead us to disappointment and pain.
The title of this blog, "Now is the Moment", has never meant so much to me as it does right now. In THIS moment.
When I started this blog a year ago, I was anticipating a trip of a lifetime in Italy. I am doing the same thing now. I am moving my whole life to Rome in 5 days. I am leaving behind many things--- my childhood home (which just got sold), my car, my job, my town. I'm leaving my dearest friends and family. But most importantly- I'm leaving any expectations at home. I am letting life happen to me, rather than trying to control and manipulate its course.
We only have one life on this earth. We have one chance to figure it all out- to experience all that we possibly can. To see as many places that we can. Love as deeply as we are humanly able to. Discover our passions. To try as hard as we can in every scenario we are in. To give everything we have to the world.
Life is short, and we do not know when it will end. So we need to live in the moment- without setting expectations for how we are going to feel. If we focus too much on the anticipation of our senses and feelings- the joy of life will slip through our fingers.
Now is the moment---not an hour from now, not a day from now, a week from now, a year from now. Now. Breathe in the moment. Right now.
Rome, I'm so ready for you.
