I was lucky to be introduced to a book called 'The restful mind' by Gyalwa Dokhampa. He writes that there are three parts to cultivating a restful mind: breathing, acceptance of change and appreciation.
He writes that when our mind is restless, we have forgotten these three things. He says we can create the conditions for tranquillity by returning to these three together.
Breathing and acceptance of change are key parts of the 8-week mindfulness stress-reduction course curriculum, but appreciation not so much. So I was keen to pay some attention to this.
Dokhampa suggests that we appreciate what we do have, finding the good in our lives.
Can we appreciate the physical health that we do have? That we can see, hear, breathe. And the people who care for us, family, friends. The lifestyles we live, what we do, our communities. And knowing that good people exist, and good things do happen.
He explains that appreciation is better balanced by acceptance of change so that we don't cling to wanting appreciation. And that is the link to expectations, so I include the quote about trading expectations for appreciation.