Gratitude & Expectation

When you feel uncertain, walk beside Gratitude. Take its hand, and trust.

Years ago, a sweet woman taught me to give gratitude for something you're cherishing before it manifests.

She had a home on the market and needed to sell it quickly, so she envisioned it done, and celebrated the freedom she knew she’d feel after the sale. Sure enough, her house sold, and her joy and expectation never wavered in the process.

Expectation holds the hand of Gratitude. They are beautiful partners. 

The year COVID halted all of our lives as we knew them, I quit my job, with all its security, and decided to take a sabbatical to reflect and restore before I began to listen for what was next. I felt wounded, no longer myself, and needed to understand the source of my pain so that I could heal.

Connecting with my husband and my family on a deeper level was also my priority. 

We ended up renting a house in a city where we knew only one person, and it was a gift. No distractions, just time for ourselves. We were grateful for it every day.

Long walks in the canyons outside of Las Vegas became a lifeline. During our 90+ minutes of focused time together, we let surface and worked through our desires to grow personally, and we shared metaphysical ideas that were coming to us in the midst of a time of spiritual research and awakening. 

We weren’t stepping foot into church then, but our spiritual lives were taking flight in new ways. We were envisioning an entirely new life, and somehow it felt freeing at the time to do it apart from others’ expectations and judgment. 

With our kids gone, careers working for others behind us, and new dreams brewing, we knew that, if we were going to move forward, we had to overcome old habits and self-inflicted labels that had held us back. Things like procrastination and avoidance; worrying about others’ opinions; and focusing on challenges and shortcomings, rather than celebrating progress. 

Some of us allow ourselves to play the role of victim or martyr, get distracted by crippling comparisons, or too often feel like we never do enough.

I also intentionally embraced the idea that the best of life was ahead. Just as my husband had decided that he was going to get younger and overcome concerning physical deterioration several years earlier, I knew that I could also experience the expectations that I entertained about myself. His demonstration of mental discipline, better habits, and renewed vitality a few years prior was my inspiration.

During this time, we adopted the new motto: “Gratitude and expectation are our resting state.” It's the mental space that we work to uphold, and lean into when we feel uncertain.

Combined, gratitude and expectation carry us through tough times. We can focus our attention on unknowns, doubts, inadequacies, and feeling “stuck”, or we can start by giving attention to the small victories that we sometimes take for granted, and allow a more consistent appreciation to grow into the recognition of bigger breakthroughs and successes. 

Too often, we forget to celebrate! 

Just about everything in my life the past two years has been unconventional and uncertain. This last year, while living on the road in an Airstream, I launched Honest Heart Journeys while my husband focused on learning a new digital industry that gives him the kind of flexibility he wants. Everything is still in its infant stage, but there’s a freedom and joy as we take time to be grateful for each unfolding step, and nurture positive expectations for what’s ahead. 

Sometimes, we need to be intentional about expectation, even when we don’t feel it. We can get clear about and cherish what we want, and unwaveringly focus on feeling its presence.

Like the woman who celebrated the sale of her home before it manifested, we are grateful for what is today, and expectant of continued good to come.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy. Far from it! Last night I lay awake suffocating in a flood of worry. So, this morning, I grabbed my walking partner, hopped in the car, and we drove to our property to walk the hills and breathe in the Colorado high desert summer morning air. 

The walks with my husband start slowly, quietly, and with reflection. They can often escalate to heightened concern and frustration – drawing the negative out into the open. Finally, we each begin to hear what the quiet, certain voice inside is telling us – about ourselves, and our situation. We begin to feel the power of Love’s presence and know that we have always been, and ever will be, known, understood, cared for, prospered, and protected by the Divine.. 

We end our time together with gratitude, which naturally becomes expectation and new resolve. It’s like the air and sunlight dissolve the worry, and all is clear.

The key is to give gratitude first, then hold steady, certain, joyous expectations. Recognize all the direction, provision, inspiration and care that we’ve always received, and know that the same all good, divine power that has nurtured our heart continues to know and care for us. The precedent for Good is set.

So trust, hold the hand of gratitude that is tethered to expectation. Release a heavy, labored sense of life and put it in Love’s hands. Life isn’t meant to be endured, or just survived. We are meant to thrive – to feel our unlimited, free, inspired nature and promise.

Gratitude and expectation sit, hand in hand, at the feet of Joy. Let go of the struggle, and rest in this!