Ground Zero

All of these anti-gay laws and listening to different people have me thinking about judgement, control, and expectations in a more broad and personal sense.

Expectations can ruin life in many ways: they set you up for disappointment. And they can prevent you from seeing what's good about something.

If, for example, you believe that the sodomites should be punished for their sins, well, you might be disappointed. And if you're a homophobic Mormon with a gay child, then you might never appreciate him/her, which is disheartening. Why? because you desperately clung to your expectations.

And that's essentially what most venting is about: disappointment with some person, event, situation, etc. Everyone needs to vent, and I'm not judging that. And if someone has been abused, then s/he needs to vent and get help.

But since when does life have to live up to your expectations? What makes you so fucking special? As Chuck Palahniuk said in Invisible Monsters,"Sometimes your best way to deal with shit is to not hold yourself as such a precious little prize."

Your fellow human beings don't have to agree with your views.

Your fellow human beings don't have to treat you well.

Your family doesn't have to be happy, sane, and supportive.

Your job doesn't have to be pleasant and meaningful.

Your body doesn't have to function.

Your ______doesn't have to work the way you'd like it to etc ad nauseum.

You can do what's within your power to shape your life that way you want it, but the extent of your control will have its inevitable limits.

I dunno what my exact point of this hyperbolic post is is aside from the fact that letting go of expectations (within reason) makes life significantly more enjoyable.