The Wishlist of Fools

That's what someone told me was the
definition of "Expectations."

I never forgot that.

It came to mind today as I was
considering a hotly debated topic:
The pictures of the girl:
Real or Not?

The topic is enmeshed in many
pieces and parts, and it is in
some ways difficult to pull the
pieces apart in a way that is
helpful, given the meaning behind
what it means for the person
putting their picture out there,
and those who interact with that
person and "their" image.

All along the way there are
opportunities for potential
deceit, and some would take
issue with it.

Some are even surprised to find
that some images are not truly
the person, and even surprised
and hurt when they find out that
another *gasp* has lied.

When I think of this topic, I
wonder what expectations would
be good to have here?

The next thought I have is that
this is just a portion of the
bigger world, and what happens
in the bigger world?

People are never deceptive or
lie there, right?

Why have an expectation of
honesty when the likelihood of
deception is pretty strong?

I don't like saying that, or
even thinking that. I would
like to believe when someone
tells me something, I can
believe them.

I would like to.

However, I have come to realize
that we are often deceived, and
part of the reason we are deceived
is because we trust another more
than we trust ourselves.

Someone once told me that there
was someone that he was chatting
with who said she was a domme,
and it turned out that she wasn't
a "she" at all. Nothing against
"her," he said, but he wasn't
interested in someone who wasn't
in his mind a "she," and something
just didn't "feel" right.

This guy could have easily have
ignored that feeling he had, and
perhaps later have felt betrayed
by the other person, but he averted
that possibility by listening to
his gut, and acting accordingly.

This example is a case of one of
the blurred lines in this
conversation, however it raises
the point: We KNOW a lot more
than we sometimes give ourselves
credit for.

And why do we do that? Because
we want to believe. We want the
fantasy to be reality. We want
what we want, and we are willing
to forgo what we feel, if someone
is able to give us a reason to,
such as "yes, those pictures are
me," whether verbalized or implied.

It doesn't matter if you'll ever
meet, or not. There is within
each of us a dynamic that works
for us. And for some it doesn't
matter what the packaging is, it
works just fine for the context,
for others whether the person is
really their image or not, is
really an issue.

As with anything, we must stop
giving our power away in ways that
don't work for us, and that includes
believing things when our gut knows
otherwise.

When your gut speaks on something
that is important to you, it is
always best to listen, despite what
you want, or want to be the truth.
If you don't, odds are you will be
very much upset, and likely blaming
someone else because they said...

What is a reasonable expectation to
have of anything or anyone in this
world? The only one that I can come
up with (putting aside the fools
comment for a moment) is to expect
that whatever your gut says is right
is likely to be so.

Anything else, I'd say, is unreasonable,
and likely subject to potential
disappointment. Of course I'd always
like people to expect to have a good
time when interacting with me, however,
if their expectation doesn't align with
me, or what's possible, a person is
likely to walk away disappointed.

I would prefer that we never interacted
with expectations that are focused on
what another would say or do.

Of course, that may not be reasonable,
or make much sense in day to day life,
so the next best thing would be to be
cautiously optimistic that things will
be as suggested. And, in the cases
where we have something to say in the
matter in regard to our fate, do our
due diligence to have the best opportunity
to have what we want.

In the end, should you be deceived, it
will most assuredly suck, however the
more willing you are to trust your gut,
the more it will be able to be trusted,
and the more likely you are to have the
kind of experiences you want to have,
untainted by others attempts at misleading
in a way that doesn't work for you.

Dems my couppla cents.
Thanks for reading.