Expectations

Expectations…we all get them. When we get them and they are not met, we get disappointed. I had some expectations recently that did not get met. I had some trust broken. I got hurt. I have been battling that for a while.

But I took some steps to overcome the negative feelings that I was experiencing. I wrote a letter. I made some phone calls. I talked to some people. I used the tools I had learned over the past three years.

I am climbing out of the disappointment that I felt. I am climbing out of the hurt. I still feel some anger, but I am working through that.

I realize that I can’t help someone that doesn’t want help. You can’t help someone to get better that doesn’t want to get better. I can’t share my experience, strength, and hope with someone that doesn’t want to listen.

Someone told me today that instead of expectations, I can have hope. Hope is good. Hope is something you can have without getting hurt if nothing happens. I am working on that.

Some people in mental illness are so stuck in their mental illness that that is all they see. They see no other way. When that happens, you can’t do anything to help them. Except pray. Prayer is always available. Be available when they reach out. But you can’t reach in – not always.

So I can look forward in hope instead of expectations. Just being here as I am demonstrating a life in recovery. There are others who do want help. Others who are reaching out. I can offer those hope in a future of recovery – one day at a time.