“Happy expectancy of possibility opens our hearts.” 

Beverley Pugh

I love the phrase “happy expectancy”.  It’s uplifting, it’s hopeful, it’s “anything is possible”, it’s energizing.  Spring for me is light and warmth and renewal and the essence of “happy expectancy”.

There are times when I catch my mind focussing on what’s wrong or what could go wrong.  I have learned to choose differently.  My ‘little mind’ wants to focus on lack and I invite my ‘big mind’ to focus on the unlimited possibilities of each moment.

I have always carried happy expectancy with my children.  It’s been one of my greatest parenting strengths.  That doesn’t mean I haven’t been real about what’s happening, but I have aspired to hold the energy of happy expectancy as a parent.

And then I do it for myself.  When my mind wanders to “lack” of something, I kindly bring it to happy expectancy.

What is happy expectancy?  It’s being in my heart, knowing that good things are possible and that’s where I choose to be.  It brings out the best in me and it brings out the best in my family.

Happy expectancy is different from expectations.  Expectations are more about “shoulds” – how something should look.  We often carry a lot of emotional attachment to how something should look and that can cloud the present moment.

One of my greatest learnings is to shift from expectations to happy expectancy. That doesn’t mean I don’t have expectations of others and myself. I watch the emotional attachment I have to them. I watch the meaning I give expectations. Happy expectancy opens our hearts to all the good things that are available now in this moment and in the future. For me, it usually starts with a big “letting go” breath or sigh. My breath deepens and then I choose my focus of happy expectancy. I know when I’ve got it because I can feel sensations in my body.

Spring is a wonderful season of renewal and growth. You hold the capacity of Spring. I invite you to play with happy expectancy.