The Difference Between Hope and Expectation

Growing up and in life now as an adult, we hear sayings or statements that are designed and intended to create teachable moments. Words people deliberately speak in a certain order to make the most impact possible. We hear about the early bird getting the worm or what you sow so shall you reap; all the best to remind us how we are supposed to embody goodness and wholesomeness in our lives. I totally get it.

But there is one statement that people might not have heard before that I believe is a legitimate teachable moment. Words that I listened to my father link together my whole life; words that can be looked upon as harsh or vulgar, but are poignant none the less.

If you are one to shudder at the use of curse words, I might advise you to click away. Today, I am going to repeat a statement that taught me why it is important to look beyond the powerlessness of hope.

Now hold on—let me give you the statement and explain the metaphoric lesson in it, then if it’s crap click away and live the way you’ve been livin’.

READY?

“WISH IN ONE HAND AND SHIT IN THE OTHER, SEE WHICH ONE FILLS UP FASTER."

Vulgar right? Well to some maybe. But let’s look beyond the word shit, and put anything tangible in its place.

I understand the importance of wishing when you believe you don’t have any control of your life. You can sit around all day, every day hoping and praying for a job, dreaming of the day someone will walk up to you and offer you a job. Wouldn’t that be nice, but I can almost bet, it will never happen because hope and wishes are born from the belief that there is a possibility it won’t happen.

There is a difference between Expectation and Hope—a BIG difference. When one hopes for something they believe there is a chance it won’t come to be; while when one expects, there is only the belief that it is done.

Hey I know this is gritty but it is time I got a little gritty. Look at it this way, when you go to take a bath, or turn on the sink do you hope the water will turn on; or do you expect it to flow? We don’t go around flicking on light-switches with the hope they’ll work. We know they work. That is the difference between hopes and expectations.

Now if we can expect light-switches to work, water to run, and gravity to hold us to the earth, why can’t we expect peace in our world, prosperity to flow in our lives and health to be our normal every day? Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean we can’t expect it. When we fill our hands with expectations instead of hope we watch them overflow with possibilities of greatness and the opportunities of demonstrating everything we desire. But we mustn’t hope, we must know.

We would never look at a child with a dream of becoming a dancer and tell them to stop dreaming. So let’s not confuse the ideas of dreams with hopes. They are two different thoughts. Dreams ignite the spark of thoughts that produce expectations. Hope gives us an escape route. There is nothing more powerful than a made up mind. 

Look back at examples in your life where you expected success in your life. Then think back at the times you hoped for something to happen. Let’s face it we really don’t need the naysayers in the world to cut us off at the knees; because the doubting voices in the back of our heads seem to be doing a bang up job.

You want your life to be different? Start coming from expectations instead of hope. Want to have a baby, go out buy the car seat and put it in your car. You want to be a writer, write that book and learn how to become published. Want to lose that weight, walk everyday and expect results. You gotta know you deserve it. Know it is your right—expect it to be so and don’t let any thoughts derail your intentions.

It isn’t miracles that are happening while you’re hoping for change; it’s your demonstrations showing up because you expected them to.

Thanks for reading!

On the Canal Trail...

I was out for a walk yesterday and as I turned to go up the canal trail I noticed the level of the water in the canal had dropped significantly. It was so low in fact; I actually experienced the shock of choking on my breath and the expansive drop of disappointment in my gut. My only thought ~ what the hell are we going to do? Immediately I went into the belief of doom and gloom and not having enough rain this winter. What are the ducks and fish going to do with such little water? 

Why do we do that? Why do we immediately assume the worst? Automatically our minds drop right into the “Eeyore” mentality. Well we are conditioned that way because we’ve bought into something called, “race consciousness.” Race Consciousness is the collective thought of the human race. All thought seeks to express through the paths of least resistance. When we become negative or fearful we attract that kind of thought and condition in our lives.

So when I realized I was “buying” into the belief that we didn’t have enough water in the canal; a thought came to me. What if the canal workers drained it on purpose?

Here let me explain.

There is a certain upkeep they must do to maintain the walls, pumps, and fences of a canal. When things need to be repaired or replaced, they must empty the space to see the problem, rectify the situation and make it more efficient and proper. They didn’t dry it out and destroy the life that depends on it. They simply made the decision to drain the old, fix the problems and let it fill back when it’s time.

Now what if we thought of the canal like our own consciousness? What if we took all of our negative beliefs, conditional thinking, limited ideas and fearful thoughts and let them drain from our mind? Once we have stopped the flow of old ideas, we can see where we need to repair, replace and renew the frame or walls of our beliefs. Let the new fluidic thoughts of prosperity, love, joy, and peace fill the canal of our minds. Water is formless and without intention until we use it with purpose; same with our thoughts. Until we make a conscious decision to change our thinking, we will continue to blame the water for drowning those who can’t swim.

Hey I’m not saying it’s easy or without having to do some pretty intensive work. Okay, sometimes we might have to put on our slickers and wade through the muck and mud of some pretty gnarly, stagnant beliefs. But once we repair the cracked cement, replace the old inefficient pumps and mend some fences we’ll notice our lives flow so much better.

There must first be an intentional thought before anything can be made manifest. We live in an ever expanding universe, why are we so afraid to stretch? Life wants to give us everything our hearts desire, why won’t we take it?

I know I say the time is now—a lot, but hey it really is. It is time to let go of hate, let go of limited belief, let go of the idea of lack, and powerlessness. It is time to let all of that go and know right here and right now that you are a force in this world that deserves to experience the greatest the Universe has to offer.

It is in our nature to live a life of gratitude; a life of service; a life of eternal peace. Science has already proven that we are all interconnected. This is your opportunity to experience it. Start today; give someone a smile, a hug, an encouraging word; start seeing the world you want to live in and before you know it, your world will change.

Thank you for hanging out and reading my ramblings. 

What Are Words?

What are words and why do we sometimes use them so carelessly, frantically, or thoughtlessly?

We must begin to understand that words and thoughts are First Cause that backs everything happening in our world. When we think and speak there is a definite movement of energy that is exchanged between Truth and what is demonstrated. It is also called Cause and Effect.

Let’s look at how words and thoughts carry power. Take for instance the simple act of saying the words, “I am tired.” Have you ever noticed that when you say out loud, “I am tired” you tend to yawn more, waves of fatigue begin to splash across your body, and you may even decide to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon? You’ve made up your mind (thoughts) to be tired, then something clicks in your body telling it to rest, and before you know it, you’ve fallen asleep on your couch in the early afternoon.

Same thing happens when you say words like, I am sick, I am fat, I am poor, or I can’t. Any time you say the words, I Am and put anything behind it, energy is set in motion and the Universe lovingly gives you exactly what you claim. It is unconditional, free of strings, and instantaneously. How careful we must be then about the words we so frivolously speak.

Listen carefully to words spoken around you. Pay attention to the words of healthy people, prosperous people, people who truly understand the power behind the spoken word and conscious thought. You’ll notice they don’t carry around their old stories of woe. They don’t drag old baggage and itineraries from yesterday into today. They’ve made the decision to prosper, be healthy, and live in peace. And guess what? We see them as prosperous, healthy, peaceful, and happy because they work at being that type of person in the world.

Don’t conform to the world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The best way to see if your thoughts and words are in alignment with what you truly want, take a look at your life. Are you giving people around you the benefit of the doubt? Are you speaking words of love, peace, and happiness about your body, your home, your family, friends, acquaintances, and yes even so-called enemies?

Let’s think about this, if everything around you is a reflection of your thinking, and you have the power to change your thoughts, words and ideas, then what’s to stop you from experiencing a wonderful, loving, joy filled life? Why would you want to be thinking anything less than positive? 

You don’t like the way life is treating you, change the way you treat your life.

Wake up and decide before your feet even hit the floor, that something great is going to occur. Expect it; know it as you know the sun is rising, and the tomato seed sprouts into a tomato plant. Expectations are nothing more than thoughts of certainty that something is happening. Why not expect that “something” to be wonderful, joyous, prosperous, and peaceful?

 

What a great gift—knowing that you have the ability to change your life by simply changing your mind about it?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings!

Here is some eye candy, watch out for cavities!

The Real New Year’s Resolution

Why do we feel the need to drudge up, wallow in, and shove every mistake that we ever made from the prior twelve months into a twelve hour moment?

Why do we feel the magnetic pull of choosing the last day of the year to ask for forgiveness and redemption for all of our stupid ventures and ideas that fizzled to embarrassing failures?

What will it take to realize every time we wake up in the frosty mornings or lounge in the stifling hot afternoons that we have the ability to gain redemption by consciously changing our reactions to people and events around us?

It doesn’t take the magical moment on December 31st, at the stroke of midnight, to begin to create a better life for ourselves. Every nano second, of every twenty-four hour day, of every year is a new opportunity to become everything we’ve ever wanted to.

Who told us that we couldn’t start living today? Who created the false belief that the Universe won’t collect our goals unless we stand up and claim them on January 1st?

Hey don’t get me wrong, I believe in the tradition of renewing ideals and goals for the New Year. I just don’t understand why we aren’t checking our stinking thinking every day. Why do we reserve it for the evening we stand around the television, waiting for the big glowing ball to slide down the pole in New York?

Don’t we know that all those beautiful people freezing in New York or on the streets of San Francisco are longing for the same world peace, financial freedoms, and unconditional love we all want?

Drunk or sober, happy or sad, peaceful or war torn, I believe we all want to be listened to and inspired. We want to dance in the light of new discoveries, sleep in the bliss of peace, and stand in the wake of plenty.

But how can our society reach true greatness if its people keep hating change, rejecting peace, and cursing prosperity?

Don’t we know by now that what we choose to focus on will stick around as long as we keep giving it energy?

Right now is the moment to sit in silence, find out what burns deep in your soul, and give that back to the world. There is nothing stronger than a made up mind. Show the world who you are and what great things you are capable of doing. Be the change you want to see in the world. Wake up every day in gratitude, and lay your head to sleep recalling the great lessons and wonders of the day. Then and only then will you truly see that it doesn’t take a stroke of midnight on the last day of the year to be inspired by your goals, live your dreams, and be the person you want to be in this world.

Live your resolutions every day~ you deserve that much!

Happy 2012~ May every moment become an opportunity to grow and live in gratitude!