Push and Pull of Expectations

 There is an interesting tension to explore between having expectations and having "none". Most people tend to associate "having no expectations" with a kind of freedom. For example, if I am buying a new stereo with no expectations regarding how it should sound, then naturally I won't feel bad if it doesn't sound as good as the others. However, the idea that having no expectations is "liberating" is a bit misleading. What "no expectations" often translates to is a kind of unwillingness to share in the emotions of others. In that sense, not having any expectations might be concealing a desire to avoid struggles altogether.
   It seems that the best expectations are the ones that are truly shared between people. By this, I mean that the expectation translates to concern and responsibility. In the case of being part of a spiritual organization, expectations are not just flights of fancy, but they are made concrete by the day to day decisions and operations of many working in tandem. Sharing expectations does not mean that people feel the same way, or are telepathically in tune with others. Rather, it relates more to a sense of having to take steps in doing things and make small efforts in a shared vision. This seems to me to be a kind of channeling of one's natural tendency to dream into something that is not entirely predictable and might not even suit people's whims of the moment. Yet, somehow, what makes the shared dream special is precisely that it is not meant to cater to the ego; it's a kind of project in which people are gradually relinquishing their desire to control every emotional state they have in service of a bigger ideal.