Greater Self Awareness

Reducing expectations is a necessary part of the personal process of letting go of the human penchant for attachment. Attachment reinforces expectations, expectations deepens attachment. Society exerts attachment in the pysche of every human being. We grow up and live consciously and subconsciously reinforcing attachment - and spend much in time, effort and finances in exercising that attachment. With attachment, comes addiction. The fuel for addiction in anything is personal expectation. It is definitely not easy to let go of attachment, as at every stage of human life, attachment is embedded in us - but we must be able to recognise it first before we can reduce and moderate it. Moderation in thought and practice only comes from an internal awakening - before then having a mindfulness about it. The awakening can be to recognise attachment coming from commercial drivers, political manipulation and personal deficiencies. Awakening can further arise from understanding why we have such addiction and expectation in several pronounced ways. For example, I reflect on why do I need round the clock news from media of any sort? Why do I expect to be able to try the latest yum food? Why do I possibly have the fear of missing out? Why do I feel the urge to visit another sensational foreign destination? Why must I have higher expectations of relatives than in acquaintances? When we manage to reduce our own level of expectations in others, the mind and emotion eases, opening up better pathways to evaluate and resolve a situation. Alongside a healthy process of reducing expectation, is the personal journey of increasing gratefulness for things, small or more, that already go right in our lives. The underlying constant requirement in each of us is the magic of personal awareness. Awareness helps us significantly to enable more observation and less reaction. We do not just observe the temporary nature of episodes, emotions and events, local or overseas, but also in ourselves. Our passing thoughts and feelings are truly not us, but only like fleeting clouds that pass us by. To be able to separate such matters is a first stage of reducing attachment. Awareness helps us in every aspect of our lifetime journey if we make the effort to embed it in everything we do. Awareness clarifies. Awareness helps in identifying causes and not just symptoms of a particular matter. Awareness makes us realise and identify the ever evolving motivations in ourselves and that of others. Are underlying reasons for our actions, thoughts and expectations instinctive, or have a specific cause for being, or are they due to some significant experience in our lives? Personal realisation helps us acknowledge our expectations and addictions. In so doing we understand better the attachments we carry. We are what we think. The mind can be the most powerful organ in rhe human body. Awareness can assist us to be moderate in approach, consumption and attitude. Moderation leads us to gratefulness, gratitude leads us to moderation. Once we can reduce our expectations, we chip down the hard rock of attachment, especially to external things and matters outside our selves. Within the journey of reducing attachment, we value what we already have. So the cycle can be summarised as such: Initial Awareness Less Distraction Greater Observation of Symptoms More Mindfulness Enhanced Focus Identifying Temporariness in Nature of Things Understanding Causes Reduced Expectations Less Addictions More Moderation Increased Gratitude More Effective Resolution Better Mental Health Less Attachment Even More Awareness To balance our approach to life, reducing attachment does not mean not recognising our personal level of energy, proactivity, initiative and turning our passions to reality. Our own positive characteristics and drive are our responsibilities to nurture and harvest from. We deal with them quietly and internally - we utilise them wisely in our independent journey of life. #yongkevthoughts