I noticed several things about behavior this week. It was a very busy week with long work days, big expectations, little family time, but less judgmental?
Let me start from last week, I had a busy week with a fantastic conference that kept pushing me forward. After arriving home very late on Friday, we got up early to pack on Saturday for our camping trip with friends. I had no expectations as I had never gone camping with these friends, but I was opened and determined to enjoy the moment. The trip was amazing!
I discovered that we had a lot of things in common, we all love hiking so we had two great hikes to the river where the kids enjoy the day and we hide from the heat, it was like natures AC. And the best part, no cell phone reception, so we had to disconnect.
The first thing I noticed, was me reaching for the phone the first few hours. Not sure if it was a certain sense of control, habit, need to constantly be doing something, but it was magical. No text, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, news or internet in general, just me and the fabulous people I was with. Because I was fully present, there were no distractions.
The second night, the mosquitos had a banquet, it really was brutal; we applied bug spray and got a fire going, nothing we tried was working. By 8:00pm we were almost ready to give up, so we went into the tent and play cards. Expecting it to be miserable, it was actually quite pleasant. Simple family time, perfect weather inside the tent, no rush, the river sound. Just US. Dropping the expectations of what camping should look like (next to the fire, enjoying the starts and the moon, roasting marshmallows, you know.
It is funny how I think about this trip, I had no expectations, didn't know the campgrounds, didn't know the parents of my kid's friend, wasn't sure about anything. But I am certain that not having expectations, let me enjoy the weekend even more, not because they were low, I just didn't know what to expect and was receptive to what the moment provided. Also, I am certain that the lack of internet and cell phone signal allowed me to connect more with nature, myself and my family and friend.
When we tie places or activities to certain expectations, we rob ourselves the opportunity to enjoy the fullness that the activity or the place has. We want to experience the same thing over and over, like watching an otter in the same spot on the river, watching the hummingbirds every morning on the feeders, having a campfire every night, having the ability to contact anyone we want 24x7.
It doesn't matter what it is, we have become to expect certain things in our lives, what would happen if we expect less, if we allow ourselves to see everything around us with new eyes, not expecting anything. Can you imagine the plethora of things you would discover? Things that have always been there, but since we have expectations, we lose the curiosity to see what else would it be in there for us.
Where are your expectations getting on the way of you enjoying your life?
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