In the Christian tradition, Advent is a time of expectation. Yet, expectation has a dark side as well. One that can thwart spiritual progress.
The good side of expectation is that it energizes our eyes to look for life and anticipate (and cooperate) with its emergence. To co-create with life, with the Divine, as it emerges. Expectation engages our whole being in the pursuit of life and love.
The dark side of expectation leads to excessive and unhealthy manipulation and control. When we turn expectation into expectationS than we are in danger of controlling outcomes and thwarting the very life we long to experience. The more expectations I lay onto the present moment, the more unlikely I am to experience the richness of that moment. My expectations have created a "must" that ends pliability, vision and receptivity.
As it says in the Bhagavad Gita
It is not those who lack energy or refrain from action, but those who work without expectation of reward who attain the goal of meditation. Theirs is true renunciation.
Therefore, Arjuna, you should understand that renunciation and performance of selfless service are the same. Those who cannot renounce attachment to the results of their work are far from the path.
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With meditation, as with all of life, the more expectations I place on the process, the less I experience the moment.
As we practice expectation, may it be free-er from expectations that taint the energy of anticipation.
dave
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