Great expectations

I asked a lot of questions the other day. And today I am going to answer a question. All credit of the title goes to Mr. Charles Dickens, who wrote one of the most beautiful pieces of literature by that name. The number of inferences you can make about the central characters - Estella and Pip is immense, and each time you think about the story, you are transported into another realm altogether. So, my post comes nowhere close. It is just yet another observation of human nature if you will. I don't mean to write this in a patronizing sense at all. But the more I observe people in specific instances, the clearer the trends get and the more embossed the patterns become.

My observation for now - expectations are the cause of all misery. Yup! You might have heard this piece of platitude in numerous situations. But clingy as the human mind is, the expectation never seems to go away. I expect people to behave in a certain way. I expect reciprocity. I expect everyone to think like I do. I expect people to be trustworthy. I expect people to value relationships the way I do. I expect to build ties of everlasting friendship. Little do I realize that it takes two ends of a rope to tie a knot. (See - I didn't use the other cliche of it taking two hands to clap!)

And then I end up wondering and pondering the biggest existential question of all time - the eponymous question - WHY. And I ponder about the underpinnings of my masochistic leanings - the wish to subject myself to this expectational torture, not once, not twice, but every single time. Is this the right way to be? Is there a way out of this vicious cycle of expectation and disappointment? And I end up with the same answer every time - No. And why is there no way out? Because I expect, therefore I am - and as always, hope springs eternal. Who knows, I expect not to be let down next time around...