It's been said that desire is the cause of suffering. I'll put it another way. Expectations cause suffering. Expectations always have to do with the future. What we are expecting to happen. And, when we don't get exactly what we were expecting, we suffer. When we have expectations, we are not fully in the present moment. You cannot hold expectations and be in the now. We live in a culture that tells us to have all kinds of expectations. It trains us to suffer. And, we follow along thinking this is normal. The answer is counter-culture. Let go of expectations. Accept what is. That is how you find joy in the now. Children are the best examples. Before we have trained them ignorantly and unknowingly to get in a cycle of suffering, they accept each moment without expectation. That is the key. Accept each moment without expectation. You will find unparalleled joy in the now. It will be untainted with expectations. While expectations may seem appealing, view them as spoiled meat. They may seem good now, but they will only cause pain and suffering later. Let go of expectations. Accept what is, whatever it may be. You will have many more moments of joy and happiness that would have otherwise been ruined by your expectations. Begin by being conscious of your expectations, and then let them go. When you reflect, you will become aware of how expectations have caused you suffering. You will become aware of how expectations could have robbed you of joy in many great moments. Great things will happen when you begin to see life with the wonder of a child again, and not with the expectations that society has taught you to have. Expectations are in the future and cause suffering in the now. Wonder and awe are in the now and cause joy and happiness in the now.
