hoping

  Hope, faith, belief and expectation. Those are the emotions that drive us. The order in which we pursue them is what differentiates us from others. That is what makes us different. It appears to me the primary emotion today is expectation. So many expecting so much. It is my thinking you should have hope before expecting anything else. Hope is what sustains us. Or I should more properly say, sustains me. I do have a habit of speaking in the first person when writing these thoughts as they are, in reality my thoughts. I'm not attempting to impose my thoughts or beliefs on anyone, I'm just offering an opinion. Whether you accept the offer or not is totally up to you. I remember the days when you were offered something and the response may have been, no thank you, but thanks for the offer. In todays' world, most especially on social media, the reaction is often quite different. That offer is likely to be met with derision and name calling, along with the insistence that your opinion is completely wrong. It's been my experience that the things that make you uncomfortable bear looking into instead of dismissing offhand. That's doubly so with ideas and opinions. If a statement caused you discomfort , there is a reason for it. We say, we're offended! Hear that all the time these days. But why the offense? Offense comes from something deep rooted, a core belief of some type. Especially a moral offense. Moral offenses go against the grain of instinct. 

 It just seem to me people expect a whole lot more today than in years past. When those expectations are not met, offense occurs. In truth, it is disappointment. That is when we begin to look for excuses, for the reasons outside of ourselves. We fully expected others to respond according to our thoughts. The best you can do in that regard however, is hope. I hope you will respond accordingly. I may believe you will, I may even have faith that you will, but in the end all I can do is hope. The mistake comes in when I expect something. I do subscribe to the idea, expect nothing and you won't be disappointed. It is an adage I was taught as a child and has stayed with me. That's not to say I haven't had my share of  disappointments, the practice is a lot more difficult than the advice. Perhaps it comes down to demands. How much do you demand of others? Do they met your expectations? It is that way with most things, don't you think? We have to begin by making demands of ourselves. That is the key. If we allow ourselves to be disappointed when others do not perform according to our standards, when our expectations are not met, we may become offended. The offense however lies within us, not with the others.

 That is why I say it should begin with hope. We must not lose hope. Faith, belief, and expectations will always follow hope. Expectations should be last on the list. I believe we exist somewhere in-between hope and expectations. We can not control what others do, we can not control tomorrow. I refuse to lose hope, believing things will work out for the best. That is the foundation of faith. I don't necessarily expect things to work out but I believe it will. I believe that because I have hope. If one is to believe in a God, an omnipotent entity that designed the whole universe, wouldn't that God has designed it for success? I hope so. I believe it will, I have faith. As for expectations, I'll just have to wait and see won't I? Will God disappoint me? I sure hope not. It's funny isn't it? We spend our lives wondering, where we are, what are we doing here? In the end we pray for where we will go. Are you hoping or expecting that result? Me, I've got my fingers crossed, I'm hoping. I'm hoping I won't be disappointed. I've found being certain of anything can lead to disappointed. For that reason it is best to just keep on hoping.