It was during a most unexpected place and time that I learned a significant tenet about life. This truth happened to be so simple that I have completely disregarded it. Until that day….
We were in the Conference Hall of the Mayor's Office, waiting for the members of the City Literacy Coordinating Council to arrive. As members of the CLCC Secretariat, we attend the meetings of the council to facilitate, record, note down, present and do other functions expected of us.
Thirty minutes before the scheduled start of that Special Meeting, our Supervisor, Mr. Paul Ligasan, pointed out an article from a national broadsheet. Mr. Ligasan, I have learned, reads the newspaper daily…and when I say daily, I mean daily.
He told us about the secrets to living a longer life. And one of them, according to Sir Paul, is to get married. I guess I happen to be one of those people who do not really think highly of marriage- at least, the kind of marriage that young people make these days. And when he said it, I pointed out that sometimes, marriage itself is the cause of the problem (I could not recall my exact words).
I could not really remember how the conversation progressed but I remember one thing that Sir Paul mentioned. He said that disappointments in a relationship, be it romantic or otherwise, usually happens only when you expect more from the other person.
You will only be disappointed if you ask the other person to give you something which he or she cannot give. I guess this one is right.
If there are no expectations, there are no disappointments. Sometimes, preconceived notions and ideas are dangerous in any endeavour or encounter. One is better off if one sticks with the cold, hard facts of the trade.
I learned my lesson I guess. And this lesson is being reinforced daily. Expectations = disappointments.
