Great Expectations

The past few days, I was able to go on the presbytery minister's retreat. Having never been to one of their retreats before, I went into the event with low expectations. I guess, I didn't feel like I needed to go on a retreat right then. There were so many other things I could have been doing. I have a number of things on my to do list. Secondly, being an introvert, I wasn't all that keen to go away with many people I hardly knew. Despite the fact that I am in a "people" profession, and despite the fact that I meet strangers constantly as part of my job, being introduced to new people is still a nerve wracking experience for me. And I didn't really think I needed a break right now. Oh sure I have some holiday time built up. But I do good self care I thought. So why go on a retreat.

However, as soon as I got there, many of my fears were allayed. The strangers were not that difficult to meet. We had much in common. My to do list was full, but nothing was on it that needed to be done right now. And as I sat back and did some reflection, I came to realise that I did indeed need a few minutes to just slow down and be. My expectations for the event were more than exceeded and I came back rested and recharged.

Expectations. Sometimes we go to events and we have great expectations. We have anticipated what might happen and how that will make us feel. Sometimes we get what we anticipated or even an event exceeds our expectations. Many times though when we go in with high expectations, we get disappointed. Something didn't live up to expectations. It was not as good as you had hoped it would be. This leaves us disappointed and demoralised.

However, sometimes, we leave an event pleasantly surprised. Like my retreat, we come away with more than we had hoped for and this fills us with joy. Something you had dreaded doing becomes pleasurable. This is an unexpected joy that brightens our journey.

We are only human. We are bound to have certain predispositions towards things if for example, a friend likes or hates a movie, or if someone is kind to a relative or nasty to them. Sometimes our expectations are met. But other times we get disappointed or come away with a pleasant "aha" moment. I guess my learning is not to let my preconceived ideas ruin my experience of events. By nature, we are bound to be disappointed sometimes. However, we need to learn to treasure those pleasant surprises that we find on the way.  Blessings.