Expectations

expectations are a funny thing.

This week 2 occurences have stood out in my mind of ways I have been let down. Just silly little things. One is actually happening as I type.
This Perseid Meteor Shower. I stayed up late to watch and then set my alarm for 3am, then 3:30am...now it's after 4am and I'm just Up....and waiting. As soon as I finish this I'll be back outside again. Hoping to catch glimpses of "beautiful meteors shooting thru the atmosphere".

Expectations.
"EXPECTED to put on a good show".....
"Skywatchers around the globe will have a good CHANCE"....
"Meteors SHOULD be visible in the pre-dawn hours".....
"You COULD see dozens of meteors per hour".....
"You MIGHT see 2 in a row"......
And all I "expect" is a beautiful sky filled with trailing meteors and flashing spunky lights.
Hmmmm...where are they?

For one....the moon is so bright it fills the sky with extra light and fades out other light.
Another....we had a tremendous storm last night and some of the trailing clouds are still covering the view of the SHOULD-be star and meteor-filled sky. (This is one moment where I DO wish the storm would pass.....)
This all leads me to wonder.....Do I set expectations to high? Do I want too much from experiences and from others in my life? Where DO I set expectations. Or am I just supposed to HOPE for things and jump for joy when they happen?

I think the trick may be in how I RESPOND to dashed expectations and hopes.
And how I even TRY to appreciate what DOES happen...albeit small in "stature" or "occurence". (Boy this life stuff gets to be hard work for me at times!)

Funny thing....after I sat through and thought about all these things on Expectations.....I read the rest of the article on the Perseid Meteor Shower I hoped to catch amazing views of. At the end was a perfect sentence for me to grasp:

"......but seeing even ONE can make the whole night worthwhile."

Guess I better get back outside. And hold on to what I DO happen to see out in that sky.

I'll keep you posted:)