Expectation & Disappointment

What people expect to happen is always different from what actually happens. From this comes great disappointment; this is the way the world works.

Sutta Nipata 588

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Dropping expectations doesn’t mean I drop commitment, discipline and responsibility in my actions. I take it to mean that I can do better if I am open-minded about the outcome. Being open-minded about the outcome allows me to see changes in a ways that are more easily adapted to. At one time I was a fan of boxing and I loved watching Cassius Clay (pre-Ali) dance around the ring, playing with dazzling footwork and unexpected combinations in jabs and feints until… BAM!... Liston was on the mat wondering what hit him.  What happened was that boxing had gotten so formulated that, when Cassius Clay entered the ring, boxers had no defense against his seemingly unorthodox style. Boxers like Liston tried to use brute force while other, more sophisticated, boxers stuck to traditional stances and predictable patterns. Those that performed best in Ali’s later boxing years, like Joe Frazier, picked up and adapted to the changes and thus challenged the Champ in the ring to greater affect.
    This example tells me that if I practice commitment, discipline and responsibility without expectations I am bound to be more adaptable to changes and will not be thrown off so much by them.

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