Kat Eye Studio

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Filled with Intention

This morning, I continue to ponder the difference between intention and expectation, and the relationship between the two. I continue to seek a way to maintain the space created by letting go of expectations. With all of the random thinking I’ve been doing around this topic, I might have found a way.

Here are my thoughts:

  • Let go of the expectations. No easy task, here. But it’s the starting point. Identifying the expectations that are driving you in a direction, examining them and letting them go if they do not serve you. I started with this, in Lessons from Abroad: Letting go of Expectations, but I didn’t know where to go next.
  • In the space created, explore how you want to feel. Maybe it’s a feeling of peace. Maybe it’s acceptance of what is, or love for the world around you. For me, there is always this desire for balance. I have so many different sides to me, always pulling me different directions. I somewhere gained the expectation I should choose among them, but I have come to realize I am not complete without any of them. I’ve become clear: A feeling of peaceful, joyful balance is what I desire.
  • Fill the space left by letting go of expectations with the intention to feel as you desire. Intention becomes the mirror for evaluating actions. As I set out on a path, I reflect the path against my intention (non-physical feelings) instead of comparing it against some expectations (physical outcomes). If the action fits with the intention I continue; If it doesn’t fit, I change course. The path is guided by the intention, in the moment. I lose the rigidness of a predetermined plan.

I’m liking this sequence. Instead of holding the space left by letting go expectations empty, I’ve filled it with something. But that “something” allows me the space, flexibility and non-attachment to outcomes I am seeking. With my intention filling the space and becoming the guiding factor, maybe I can avoid getting myself into the same situation again. That darn situation of letting expectations for outcomes drive me. Or maybe I can avoid getting myself into the same situation as quickly – I seem to keep coming back to this place so I can only hope that someday I will truly learn and move on.

Thanks for joining me on my journey, no matter how many times I might circle back around to the same place. Especially thank you for your comments; they have been invaluable. Each one is like a spark of thought being shared across a distance. I take the thoughts from you and add them through my own, weaving them together in different ways until they bring me to a new place of understanding. That we can do this with miles of distance between us is testament to the power of human connection. But that’s a topic for another day…

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Making Space

As I play with the concept of intention the last couple of days, I am finding an adjacent concept of space. Call it space, openness, expansiveness, or freedom – all represent the feeling that I am sensing should come along with an intention. My impression is that when I set an intention, it should not be for a specific outcome. When I intend with a specific outcome, I close down the options; narrow the possible results. Look at the words I’m using: close down, narrow. In direct opposition to open and expansive.

A place to pause in Korkula, Croatia

Whoa, I thought intentions were supposed to be specific and clear? You know, the Law of Attraction and all that.

But now I’m considering, maybe they shouldn’t be “specific and clear” in the way I was thinking – in terms of actions or results. Maybe I need to get clear on the desired outcome in terms of how I feel and not in terms of what actually happens. In my search for beauty on Saturday, there were multiple ways it could have been found. I didn’t limit the possibilities with my intention, I didn’t set any expectations, and the results were surprising, delightful and immensely satisfying.

Aha, there’s a clue in the previous sentence: Intentions are not expectations. I’ve tried to shed expectations recently, and hold open the space that comes when the expectations are cleared. All of this is related.

Here’s what I’m thinking:
– Intentions relate to feelings or internal, non-physical ways of being.
– Expectations relate to outcomes or external, physical results.

There is space and openness with an intention, because there is no attachment to a specific, physical result. None of that expectation stuff. If I intend to live a life filled with beauty, peace and love there are multiple ways that can happen. It doesn’t require a specific outcome, if I’m open to the possibilities that present themselves. If I intend (expect) to live in a mansion and have 10 cars, I am tied to a specific outcome. I’m going to be disappointed, disillusioned and unhappy when it doesn’t come to pass.

I’m going to continue to play with this concept of intention. It feels like I’m on the right track. Thanks for following my meandering thoughts today, as I work through these concepts. I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences and suggestions too!

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