At this beautiful time of year, with the giving and receiving of gifts – material things, food,and shared time with friends and family – it is especially important to take a look at ourexpectations. Expectations generally set us up for disappointments and let downs. Infact, the root of all anger is unfulfilled expectations! The secret to true happiness is to letgo of expectations. This will put us in a much freer place, as then we can acceptwhatever others bring to us as exactly what is perfect between us in that moment. If welet go of expectations, we bypass that slippery slope that slides right down intodisappointment, fear, sadness and often anger.

You might be thinking, “But don’t I need to have expectations for myself to be successful? Don’t we need to expect certain behavior from our children?” Yes, we do need to holdintentions for ourselves, as energy follow intent and will manifest in our lives if we areclear and steadfast to those intentions. And, yes, we teach children appropriate behaviorby setting limits on unacceptable behavior. But, expectations put us into a place ofjudgement, and judgement interferes with love. Judgement carries the energy of “I’mright, you’re wrong”, which chooses fear over love. We get emotionally attached to ourjudgements.

We can be discerning of things we like or don’t like without stepping out of love. Discernment is choosing without the emotional attachment of judgement.

So, use discernment to choose the things that bring you joy and open your heart at thistime of holiday celebrations. Remember the heart of Christmas is the ultimate gift ofGod’s unfailing endless love. Let go of your expectations! You will then open yourself tonew surprises and unexpected gifts of love that area waiting to flow into your life! Put anote somewhere for yourself as a reminder to “Let go of expectations!” and see howmuch happier you will be!

We always teach what we need to learn and my family will be happy that I wrote this! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!