in mathematic terms, expectation is the sum of the values of a random variable divided by the number of variables, like the arithmetic mean. does this mean we should just expect what is average?
an expectation is a belief about (or mental picture of) the future - an anticipation, a hope, a trust of something that is about to happen.
parents have expectations of their children, which at times weigh heavily - the need to not disappoint them, to dash their hopes and dreams of you. in the end, they just want for you to be happy. although initially they may not see your path as a viable route to that happiness. how is it that they always seem to have a plan, a direction, a drive that i lack?
in the career path, being unsettled may be the most difficult - not knowing, uncertainty of direction seems almost worse than being stuck in a job that you despise. my best friend would say that there are always options. weighing the risks and benefits of any situation and choosing is where the decision lies, and what you have to live with.
personal expectations are the trickiest. matters of the heart are never easy. my motto has been to "hope for the best, expect the worst - so that anything in betweeen doesn't come as a disappointment". we realise with great difficulty sometimes that no one person, no one relationship is infallable.. it is hard to not come to expect certain things when we feel we have put our hearts out on the line. we anticipate our loved ones to respond in the way we want or think that we would in that same situation. i guess we just have to remember all of us come to this point in time with miscellaneous baggage and not everyone handles the weight with the same attachments or decisiveness of others.
are we walking a path with the future a big black box ahead of us? choice is what is supposed to control the future, but there are many random variables outside of our choices.. and then there is possibly fate, karma, kismet.. and there is hope.. ("you have to create an atmosphere for hope" says my cerebrally mended friend..)
to the new year. let us trust that it is better than average, and that it can quite possibly be great.