Expectations
You are dating a girl for the first time. You want to devote your favorite song to her. But you are unable to recall the lyrics of the song. You are trying hard for it. Someone starts playing the same song far away, just loud enough for you to catch the lyrics.
You are struggling to pass a particular academic course. You haven't studied much for the examination. You were busy enjoying your closest pal's birthday party last night. You read the question paper in the examination hall and find that you know the answer of each and every question.
In all the three above mentioned situations, you will find yourself with a nice, long smile on your face. This is what an unexpected help can do to you. The help can come in any form. Be it human, nature or fate.
Now let us take a look at few other situations.
You are running late to catch a flight. You ask your friend to drop you at the airport. He laughs at you, says, "Sorry buddy, I have to leave for a peg of wine in the nearby bar." and then fades away with his other mates.
You reach your home tired after a lengthy, hectic day in office expecting your wife to be waiting for you and then, you find your wife involved in a passionate kiss with a stranger.
These are the kinds of situation when one feels that it is better not to expect anything from others, not even from the dearest ones.
Expectations are the root cause of agony and sufferings. Alexander Pope once famously said that 'Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed'. And it appears to be the call of the day. It not only refers to the expectations of a person from another but also to those of a person for his constructive piece of work. One just needs to work in the right direction without caring much about the results. Man should be content with his best efforts and should leave the rest for the forces of nature to take care of. If he is rewarded with success, that's the fruit for his conscientious work. Even if he doesn't succeed, he has to take it in sporting spirit and hit back with greater crusade. Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.
But all that is easier said than done. It is difficult to imagine not expecting goods from people whom you have helped out and not anticipating success for hours of toilsome work you put in. But in the long run, it is the expecting-nothing-from-anyone overture that would bring prosperity to everyone. All these talks remain words in a philosophy book kept in an unknown library if not put into practice. Life is a great leveler in itself. Many a times, you would be aided by unknown forces and then, there would certainly be those instances when you might find yourself as a helpless character in the drama of life who doesn’t receive even expected assistance. Live life on your own, conceiving yourself to be your only patron and I am sure you would find this world really aesthetic and worth appreciating.
5 comments:
Good job but do you think people in this world can adapt to the situation you want them to, can they see the picture you want them to see. As a whole, CAN THEY CHANGE?
"One just needs to work in the right direction without caring much about the results" .. why would anyone do something if its not for the results..
its always about balance. For example why would you even write an exam if you dont care how well do you fare in it? If you wanna get marks you read o/w you dont, its just that simple. Its agree, you should not worry too much about the results, but not caring about them is just like being ROBOT. as i said .. its always about balance :P
@ siddharth
You did put my words in better shape. Talking about your example, all that a student needs to do is give his best shot in the examinational hall and let marks take care of itself. It's criminal to expect good marks just because you worked hard for it. I know it is a bit tough to accept this fact but that's the way it goes. You must have come across innumberable such situations when a microscopic amount of work fetched you greater success than you deserved and then few times you might not have achieved the "desired" success for your arduous work. So I repeat your words-- It is all about balance. But the balance I am talking about falls in different zone than yours.
A great post indeed. I think it is nothing new, but nonethelesss most ancient, most pious thought ever conceived. It is the lesson of Bhagwad Gita "Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana", Lord Krishna said it in Mahabharat, Lord Pd says it in Blogger.
@ modified
You got it right.But do tell me one thing. How feasible, according to you, is this idea? We have come across "Geeta Saar" innumerable number of time, but how often do we follow the path shown by it? It is like a classical book-- everybody praises but very few follow it.
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