Expectations

When I talk about transition time I think most people have a real good idea of what that FEELS like.  People who are on the younger side, without families of their own oftentimes see a great deal of movement in their lives.  Whether it be from country to country, job to job, or even from their parent’s house to real life apartment; it seems like the majority of my friends go through transitions super frequently.  There is that feeling of, what is next?  Or, how am I going to occur in this new atmosphere, this setting.  It causes, inevitably, a bit of anxiety to even the most grounded of us.  As we navigate the waters of what’s next, its not only our expectations but the expectations of others that we consider, that we manage.  As we “grow up” we become intertwined in the lives of other people.  I have always believed that your very presence affects the people around you.  Your spirit, past experiences, and current state of being all impact others.  Moving out of my parent’s house for the, oh third time was interestingly easier than the previous two times.  I was ready.  I have learned over this past week that it is all about expectations that define how you occur in new situations.  Having moved to so many new situations I had developed an appreciation for not creating expectations.  When I moved to Haiti, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I was ready for the adventure and learned along the way.  On my way up to Vermont this weekend I did not prepare myself in the same way that I have prepared myself for previous adventures.  It was Christmas weekend and I inevitably had an idea of what I thought that holiday looked like.  As the weekend played out and I was in my new surroundings I became increasingly disappointed.  Disappointed in Christmas?  How much more depressing does it get?  I realized that I came into this new situation without opening myself up to the possibilities of a new place and forgot one of the most important elements of transition time:  letting go of expectations.  My lesson this week was, let it go and let the adventure take you because if you put definitions on things and try to mold those around you to your expectations you are bound to be disappointed.

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