Reflections

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  1. R
    Renata

    If you asked me a few years ago about my romantic life, I could tell you that I would not be able to find real love in my life because I was too much complicate or too much free to find someone that matches my life. Today, I am in a perfect relationship with the love of my life, who accepts me like I am and we are very happy and free together, the relationship flows like a summer breeze so this definitely surpassed my expectations in my life.

    1 year ago
  2. Robin Ann

    I definitely did not have expectations. My parents had expectations of us (my siblings) to go to college which I did. I got an associates degree but never felt like I excelled in school. When I was 50 I went back to school and got a HR certificate in HR Management and received high grades in all of the classes. However, raising children mostly on my own has been very rewarding and now my son at age 30 is making 6 figures. To me life has been a series of chapters, each chapter has had its ups and downs. I am in a good place right now in my life minus my daughter’s current challenges but for the most part I have pushed thru any of my own hardships and came out in a better way.

    1 year ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      Loving kindness and peace to you and your daughter Robin Ann.

      1 year ago
  3. pkr

    Like Charlie T. stated, I guess I really did not expect much nor was I taught to expect much. I am rather surprised however, that here I am now pretty much all alone with my family in Heaven & my support system, my touchstones all gone in the last 18 months. I have lost so much in my life.
    Over the years I have tried to work hard on having no expectations, as time & time again I have been disappointed, bewildered by my expectations not coming to fruition. It saddened me & angered me. So, over time I have worked hard on expecting nothing. With that having been said I do feel very blessed & am grateful for all I have been given. My blessings are many. I just did not expect to be all alone. I am not lonely, I am alone. I have no expectations & that is okay.

    1 year ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      I have and still do spend a great deal of time alone PKR. Yes, there is a difference from being lonely and being alone.

      1 year ago
  4. Don Jones

    I don’t really know what to expect. The daily unfolding is an incredible experience, even on the seemly dullest days. There is an intensity to this life energy that is difficult to describe, but as awareness of it has increased, so too is the fullness of that experience. Life and the life energy truly is a divine experience.

    1 year ago
  5. Diane

    “Expectations” is a loaded word for me. I have been known to get an expectation of how things “should be” so firmly planted in my mind, that I cause myself a lot of anxiety, depression, and overall discontent when things don’t turn out the way I envisioned. I have made progress over the years of my journey in letting things be what they are, radical acceptance being a key to this growth. It doesn’t mean that I never fall back into that “trap” of expectations but I’d like to believe that with awareness I go through my days with more ease.

    That being said, as a young woman who struggled with infertility, I didn’t expect that God would bless me with 2 daughters…11 years apart! I certainly was not expecting that to happen and I am grateful every day that they are here, against all odds and by the grace of God.
    I also did not expect, after 65 years living on the east coast, that we would be here in Colorado to live out the rest of our days in this beautiful landscape (even though land-locked…I miss the beach!) with our little family all together again at last.
    I embrace the miracle-and mystery-of each new day and surrender my expectations to the greater plan…so much more than I could ever ask or imagine.
    ~Blessings 🙏

    1 year ago
  6. Pilgrim

    Greetings to my friend Diane on this Prayer Tuesday! I hope that your road trip was a good adventure for you and your family. Wishing you all many blessings. I am off to the beach later today. At the moment it is pretty calm outside, with even colder weather predicted for the rest of the week. I never thought I’d be visiting the beach in early March! Carpe Diem!

    1 year ago
    1. Diane

      Good morning Pilgrim….we did indeed have quite the adventures on our road trip. Everywhere we went there was evidence of God’s abundant Presence and loving creativity in providing us with his magnificent Creation. From the desert to the mountains to the plains….it was a gift to be experiencing it all.
      We returned home to much colder weather and ferocious winds but were grateful for the perfect travel weather we had each day. I am tickled that you are going to the beach in March! Carpe Diem indeed!

      The daily reflections I receive from Richard Rohr’s site are this week on “pilgrimage” I couldn’t help but think of you.
      Here is an excerpt:
      “The Spirit yearns to break out and to break open our old practices, our protective shells of comfortable spirituality, connecting our inner selves more deeply to God’s love and to God’s world. Your soul no longer stays still. It’s moving with God in the world, and moving toward God, revealed in signs or shrines or saints or surroundings. The pilgrim’s walking body holds incarnate this inner journey of the soul.”
      ~Grateful to be on this “pilgrimage” with you my friend. 🙏

      1 year ago
      1. Carol

        Diane, Richard Rohr has been influencing my life journey for over 30 years. Love his daily meditations.

        1 year ago
  7. Nannette

    My entire life is better than I had ever hoped for. When my mother died when I was 14- I thought that my world had ended. I was the only child of my Mom and she was my everything. My father was a good man…but consumed by alcohol. When she died…I had no idea of what would become of me. I had some difficulties but don’t we all. I managed to finish high school…work, save money, get a scholarship to Nursing School…and have a good life. Years later, I would return to school, get my BS, MS and Ph.D. Neither of my parents ever finished primary school!! At the age of 52 I got married and I am blessed with a wonderful husband, and a very special home, my dog and cats…our land…God has been abundantly good to me. I worked hard and was given little…but God gave me the tools to go on.

    1 year ago
    1. Nannette

      Thank you All for your messages regarding my message, I cannot tell you how special you all are…You are so kind and to hear from you just makes my heart sing! Thank you.

      1 year ago
    2. Joseph McCann

      Dear Nannette, May Peace and Love continue to follow you and yours.

      1 year ago
    3. Dolores Kazanjian

      Thank you for your inspirational message, Nannette. You’ve done great! I, too, married late in life (46) and it has far exceeded my expectations, which, admittedly were very low. It is a blessing to have someone to grow old with.

      1 year ago
    4. pkr

      Nannette, what a story. Thank you for sharing your inspiring life story. Your attitude is absolutely beautiful. Blessings & Love to You.✨🙏🏻💜

      1 year ago
    5. Diane

      You’ve had quite a journey Nannette….thank you for sharing it with us. You are an inspiration.

      1 year ago
    6. A
      Ana Maria

      A life well lived, blessings to you!

      1 year ago
  8. Charlie T

    Life in general, has surpassed my
    expectations. But then again, I
    never expected much.

    1 year ago
  9. Butterfly

    When I became bedbound 20 years ago my expectations of my life were so dismal I really did not want to carry on. But instead of giving up I took refuge in spiritual books and learned mindfulness, meditation and, thanks to this website, gratefulness. So the level of happiness and contentment I experience now has certainly surpassed the expectations I had all those years ago.

    1 year ago
    1. Sheila

      You are such an inspiration, Butterfly!!! Bless you. 💖

      1 year ago
    2. Diane

      Dear Butterfly…thank you for sharing. Living with chronic illness has, over time, brought me unexpected blessings as well.

      ~May you continue on your journey with all the happiness and contentment your heart can hold. 🙏

      1 year ago
  10. Yram

    Being an octogenarian!
    Being married 54 years!
    Enjoying long time friends!
    A great place to shelter.
    Abundance of food.
    Surrounded by nature!

    1 year ago
  11. Sheila

    That everything always works out for the highest good. I am so abundantly blessed! Wishing everyone a beautiful day. Love and peace to all 🧘‍♀️🌈

    1 year ago
  12. Carol

    What has surpassed my expectations in life? I find this question troubling because I think of Life as process not product. I am Life as is all of creation and I don’t think I’m here to perform. I’m here to grow in awareness. I hope that I and my species choose to evolve, to truly be the bread of life for the sake of all of creation but if we don’t, the gains that have been made by our species in the field of science tell me that Life will find a way.

    1 year ago
  13. Pilgrim

    The joy of being a mother and grandmother. Good friends. The work/ministry I have been blessed to be a part of. Now living in a place I had long wanted to live.

    1 year ago
  14. coastmoor

    Love has exceeded my expectations, greatly. Love helps me to feel good, about myself, and about others. Love gifts me a focus to write, writing is my closest companion.

    1 year ago
  15. Joseph McCann

    I am not sure I expected anything from life, growing up in he sixties, but I have had good fortune that this life has manifested for myself and my loved ones.

    1 year ago
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