Finding the melody of life
I'm heading back to Chiang Mai, Thailand tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it! I've been many times before, and it's always so relaxing and rewarding.
It's been a long time since I booked this trip. I think having something to look forward to is important, especially in our modern society where everything needs to happen right away.
I also think it's just as important not to yearn too much for what is to come. Partly because it neglects the present, which after all is the most important thing we have. Partly because we can never be sure how the future will unfold.
You have to learn the fine line between hope and expectation. When you start expecting something, the disappointment becomes so much greater.
This is how Christopher Reeve's wife puts it in the remarkable documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. A wise and healthy attitude that takes the edge off the disappointments we encounter along our path through life.
Longing without expectation - that’s the melody of life.