Expectations are pre-meditated resentments
Discussion
They are the root of all suffering.
Disagree. But I may have a very different sense of expectations. I think they ultimately determine every action we take.
To your point, inflated or overly optimistic expectations are likely as you say. So just expect less!
Always depend on you disagreeing 🫂 Yeah, i more mean those you place on others and mainly the inflated ones. But any time resentment is afoot, check first if you didnt set yourself up for it type of thing.
The past no longer exists, and if we try to live in it via memory we will become depressed.
The future does not yet exist, and if we try to live in it via imagination we will become anxious.
The present exists, and if we live in it we will be at peace.
Yet, we can exercise memory and imagination now in the present. We have developed these faculties to aid us in dealing with the present moment and in understanding the present moment more thoroughly. So to form an expectation may be a cause of anxiety or it may be an aid to living in the present moment more successfully.
I believe the key differences are our intention in forming an expectation (ie whether it is to equip us to take some action should a contingency arise) and our willingness to let go of a certain expectation if things turn out differently.
This is pretty close to my take. We agree there is no past, only our individual perceptions of the past.
Where I may diverge is in the significance of emotion. Our perceptions, both past and active (present) are colored by emotion. Every perception can be changed based on our emtional state.
I also thin every decision has an emotional component, in that we are constantly deciding (and then acting) based on a perception of a desired future state (an expectation), and that perception, as well as all of the risk assessment and perception of past events and present state - is all actually determined by our present emotional state.
So we are emotional beings, above all else. Even those we consider to be "logical" are just emotionally attached to and comforted by a sense of order, so their choices and actions reflect that attachment.
Change your emotional state, and many of your perceptions may change, past, present, and future (expectations). This is why psychedelics used in therapy have been so successful - they free us from overwhelming emotional states, long enough for us to get a glimpse of being free of that emotional state, and experience a different emotional state and all the changes that go with it.
Being "mindful" is just trying to experience the present while tuning in to your own emotions.
I could also argue the present doesn't exist, as by witnessing it, we have already moved on to a perception of the extremely recent past, but enough for now - thanks for your thoughts!
Thank you for both of your thoughts! 🫂💜✨
I like that distinction in the last paragraph