We all have a desire to control.

To control our lives and our futures.

The thought of being out of control usually terrifies us.

Anything can feel better than losing control.

So we grab on to and hold the things we can tightly.

For at least we can have some sense of control that way.

It comforts us to control our diets, our exercise, and our daily routines.

In fact, we might become so attached to our routines, we cannot allow anything to change them.

We make the routine more important than what it is that we really want to achieve.

Which is to be happy.

To infuse our lives with joy and fun.

Living life for the adventure and the pure pleasure of it.

Yet we often do not realize that by holding on so tightly to control, we leave little room for magic.

For life cannot bring us the serendipitous connections when there is no space for us to receive them.

It is only when we loosen our grip on controlling our lives that life has a chance to get in and brings us something beyond our imagination.

When we try to force magic to happen, it never does.

Grabbing and holding ourselves so tightly to what we have planned out for ourselves squeezes the very juice out of life.

We do this by holding our expectations so firmly that nothing can come to us outside of our expectations.

Yet the real magic happens when we least expect it.

For it is only when we allow ourselves to get lost that we can find something unexpected.

It is only when we step forward without any idea of what we are getting ourselves into can life truly surprise us.

We might be walking a different route to our home one day when we suddenly meet the love of our life.

Or perhaps we travel to a foreign land where we don't speak the language only to discover a connection to someone you would have never met otherwise.

In so many ways we learn the most about ourselves and about life when we least expect it.

For any expectation narrows down possibilities and constricts opportunities.

When we are open, receptive, and fluid, then life can present us with a myriad of surprising options that we never imagined.

Being willing to drop our expectations is a great place to start.

Allowing ourselves to get lost, both figuratively and literally, can surely help.

Lightening our grip and releasing our expectations will surely bring us closer.

Closer to those moments when life can open our eyes and bless us with something truly miraculous.

So where in your own life are you holding onto expectations too tightly?

What can you do to give more space and more room for life to surprise you with some magic?

~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour

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