Drop Your Expectations - A young girl fell in love and got engaged with the man of her dreams. She called her parents with great excitement to tell them the news!
"Mom and dad!! I have a surprise for you!", she squealed into the phone, hardly able to contain her excitement. She wanted to share this most important moment of her life with the most important people in her life. She was expectantly waiting to hear their joyful congratulations and receive their blessings for a happy married life. She wanted to invite them to her engagement party.
"Tell us dear, what's your surprise?" said the parents. "I'm engaged and you have to come to the party next month!!". She waited anxiously for the reaction she was hoping for from those she trusted her heart with the most - her parents. Five seconds passed ...nothing. Ten, fifteen… still nothing. Then her father spoke in a curt and short voice. "Congratulations. We are sorry we cannot attend your engagement party, since we had no say in your choice of life partner." Then he hung up. The girl was crestfallen: her own parents had turned their back on her in her most joyful moment. The parents were disappointed at the perceived lack of respect from their daughter not including them in a decision they thought required their input.
Both sides felt they were right. Communication came to a grinding halt because of unresolved expectations.
Do you value being right over preserving a relationship? Think again. To accomplish many tasks in the world relationships are required: from raising children to building businesses. The people we work with or are married to may not always live up to our expectations. But is this worth throwing away the relationship? After all nobody is perfect.
In this video, Swamiji discusses the key to happier relationships. Watch it to find out how we can repair our unhappy relationships.
