Fresh New Day» 068 – The sound of distant thunder

Our religion keeps reminding us that we aren’t just will and thoughts. We’re also sand and wind and thunder. Rain. The seasons. All those things. You learn to respect everything because you are everything. If you respect yourself, you respect all things. — William Least Heat Moon

Flying home last night I was chatting with a fellow passenger about expectations and the kinds of things we might find acceptable. Ok, so you don’t do that kind of thing, good for you. My fellow passenger had been going through some issues in her life, and she’d reached a conclusion that, well, enough was enough and she was going to explore some alternatives. She didn’t know what they were, but she was in explore mode.

I remembered a guy I worked with, years back. A bright young man who’d somehow managed to eel his way through school without learning to read and write. We’d helped him solve some issues regarding his bank account by writing the words for the amounts of money down for him to copy. Up to ninety nine. He didn’t want to know more than that because he believed he’d never have more than that in his bank account anyway. He refused my offer to help him with his reading and writing because he didn’t need it. A short time after I left the company, and I’ve never seen the guy since.

I suspect that having made the decision that he’d never have more than $99.99 in his bank account might well have come to pass. Not having reading and writing skills would help ensure that the expectation was met. Together this would help determine his life options – job options, eating options, living options, health options, holiday options, marriage options, his children’s options – in fact all of the profile lines that at the very least would be influenced by this determination. I hope I’m wrong, and that he has overcome the attitudes, expectations, and values of youth, and that he has prospered. I wouldn’t bet on it though.

I think about our expectations as being the brontide of distant thunder. In setting our expectations we set in motion what we are prepared to accept, for good or bad. We are being respectful of ourselves, and towards the people around us, in direct proportion. If the storm arrived fully packed with our expectations would we be delighted or would we have rather have worked towards something else? Lily Tomlin said, “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”

Manifesto
08. Every day choose to bring about change.
09. Every day learn something new.
12. Every day love yourself.

Fresh New Day

068 – The sound of distant thunder

Browse

Post a Comment