This article was written by Leo Babauta. It’s such a beautiful description on how to approach life in a stress-free way. If you’ve had a stressful day, I hope Leo’s article helps to put things into perspective. Read on friends!

Toss Your Expectations into the Ocean:

‘Act without expectation.’ ~Lao Tzu

How much of your stress, frustration, disappointment, anger, irritation, pissed-offedness comes from one little thing?
Almost all of it comes from your expectations, and when things (inevitably) don’t turn out as we expect, from wishing things were different.

We build these expectations in our heads of what other people should do, what our lives should be like, how other drivers should behave … and yet it’s all fantasy. It’s not real.

And when reality doesn’t meet our fantasy, we wish the world were different.

Here’s a simple solution:

Take your expectations, and throw them in the ocean.

Picture all the expectations you have for yourself, your life, your spouse, your kids, your coworkers, your job, the world. Take them from inside you, and toss them in the ocean. A river or lake will also do.

What happens to them? They float. They’re carried around by waves. The current takes them out, and they drift away. Let them be washed away by the cleansing waters, and let them go.

Now live your life without them.

What’s a life without expectations like? It means you accept reality as it is, and people as they are, without expectations, without trying to force people into the containers you have for them, seeing things as they are. It’s a life where you don’t need to be disappointed or frustrated or angry — or if you are, you accept it, and then let it go.

That’s not to say you never act — you can act in a way that’s in accordance with your values, and influence the world, but never have an expectation of how the world will react to your actions.

If you do something good, you won’t expect praise or appreciation. Let those expectations of reward and praise float away with the waves. Do good because you love doing good, and expect nothing beyond that.

Pay attention to your thoughts. Don’t beat yourself up if you have expectations. Just see them. Then toss them in the ocean.

Notice if you start to wish things weren’t the way they are. If you wish someone else didn’t do something, notice that. You have expectations, and you wish people or the world could have met them instead of doing what they actually did. Toss those wishes in the ocean too. Now accept things, and move on.

Let the waters of the world cleanse us, and let us walk lightly in a world that is already wonderful without our fantasies.

‘I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.’ ~Dalai Lama

Here is Leo Babauta’s website. There are lots of other similar types of articles. If you like what you read here then please visit his website to read even more!

Sara

I watched this video and it made me laugh so hard I cried. I find this video so funny because Rhod Gilbert’s comedic timing is so good. He tells such a good story and has such a sarcastic wit about him. Dry and sarcastic humor is honest. It can also be biting and tough to take at times but it is that way because it’s true. Both the honesty and delivery are what make this video so hilarious. For instance, when Rhod explains about going to the claim desk to file a report for his missing luggage and they actually ask him, “Does your luggage have any distinguishing features?” and he says “a long black handle.” What’s sad is that people really are that dumb to ask a question like that. They don’t think about the obvious or practical thing to do or question…they just do or ask what’s on the form in front of them. If you’re one of those people who just does what’s expected of them and just follows the form right in front of you like 99% of the people in my department at the law firm I work for, then this video is for you:

Go beyond what’s expected of you in life, look beyond the form and maybe there won’t be someone laughing so hard that they’re crying about the ridiculous mistakes you made on the other side of the youtube.com screen which could’ve been prevented if you’d just used 1% of your brainpower.

Sara

If you have 20 minutes to check your facebook and email then you have under 20 minutes to watch this video and find out what’s really in your food. This woman never says anything about being vegan or eating plant-strong, but she does let you know what’s really in the meat and non-organic vegetables you eat and in the dairy you drink.

This video will open your eyes to what is really in your eyes. Once you know, please help your self and make a change in how you eat and think about food. It will help you live a healthier and hopefully longer life. I wish someone would’ve shared something like this with me a long time ago and I would’ve made the changes to my diet then, but I didn’t have the information back then. I do know and I’m so happy to share resources like this with you. Truly eye-opening.

Sara

I just love this post. It speaks from my heart even though they aren’t even my words. If you have something you’re really good at and have gotten burned by it chances are good you will always love it and have a very hard time replacing it. This is how I feel about dance.

When the heart speaks….move.

This is a beautiful post!

Sara

An Awesome Vegan Resource!.

I just love this blog called My Vegan Journal.

Reasons to check out this blog:

1. If you’re new to veganism, it’s a great resource to get you started: lots of recipes and interesting articles.

2. If you’ve been vegan for a while there are still new things to learn about veganism and new recipes to check out.

3. If you’re thinking about becoming a vegan, this site presents veganism in a friendly and mighty yummy way.

4. This is not a calorie-counting, weight-loss blog. There are lots or recipes ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts that are both healthy and delicious sounding at the same time.

5. The pictures on this blog will make your mouth water. They do that for me anyways.

I highly recommend this blog! It’s awesome!

Sara