Acting Without Expectation

“Don’t burden others with your expectations. Understanding their limitations can inspire compassion instead of disappointment, ensuring beneficial and workable relationships. Remember that you have only a short time together. Be grateful for each day you share”.Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

I love to read.

Every morning, and when I first wake up—I dust off an old book, and sift through the pages waiting for inspiration to find me.

I’m a terrible book owner, by the way. My collection is well worn with pages bent, and notes scribbled along every open margin. I used to feel badly over ‘tarnishing’ those pages—until one day I realized, that’s what books are for.

Books should be well worn, and ravaged with every ounce of our being—with covers torn nearly all the way through. And each page should carry the faint scent of well-traveled, from this sleepy town to all points around the world.

And in my books this morning, and between two dog-eared pages, I found this most beautiful quote from Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche—spiritual leader, and teach of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Vajrayana.

I had scribbled it down some many years before, this reminder that our frustrations with others are generally born of our own expectations.

“He was supposed to call…”

“Why can’t you remember…”

“If you just would have listened…”

Sound familiar? My dears, I can tell you from my own personal experience that that we are prone to stumble awkwardly along this pitted path of supposition.

But, what if we allowed all these things to fall gently into place?

My dears, sometimes we have to let go, to have faith…that wherever these pieces may scatter, and whichever direction our paths may lead us…trust that everything will be ok.

When we allow these things to gently fall into place – we are able to redirect our energies from that anxious, and often overwhelming worry, to that which matters most of all;

The serenity of our very own spirit.

More specifically, we’re able to express our gratitude for this time spent together and sharing…knowing, that these moments are often too quickly passing.

And so, this is how inspiration found me today—in the margins of an dusty old book, one that I had carried for years, and with still just a bit of story left to tell.

My dears, when we’re able to act without expectation, you’ll find – that everything falls so brilliantly into place.

Much love, and namaste.