unrealistic expectations...

You know, the program tells us not to place unrealistic expectations on people. I find more and more that to place any expectations on anyone is to be unrealistic. It seems that whatever I think I know about someone, whether new to my life or old, is often way off. This is not a bad thing. It is just the progression of my realization that I do not, in fact, know everything and also the fact that I am rarely, if ever, in control of anything.

I have had two particular experiences over the last few days that illustrated this perfectly. Both times, I couldn't really have been more wrong about the person. One was a very negative experience, and one a delightfully positive experience.

Once I was almost freakishly disappointed by my total lack of insight and judgment, and the other I was pleasantly surprised at my misconception.

People never cease to amaze and surprise me. And this coming from someone who used to proclaim that people were incapable of surprising me. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I am learning, more and more, that the less expectations I put on people, the easier it is to accept and love them for who they are, where they're at. As a friend and sister in recovery put it so well at a recent speaker meeting; on the topic of humility, if I took into consideration a persons' experience and their character defects as well as their strengths...I would probably do exactly whatever it is that they do or say in any given situation. To truly accept that is to accept one for who they are and where they are at.

And for today, I'll keep coming back...and work on my humility.