Expectations

Today I got a HUGE lesson in expectations. I hope I learned something.

CS Lewis wrote this, “If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place for correction and it's not so bad. Imagine a set of people all living in the same building. Half of them think it is a hotel, the other half think it is a prison. Those who think it a hotel might regard it as quite intolerable, and those who thought it was a prison might decide that it was really surprisingly comfortable. So that what seems the ugly doctrine is one that comforts and strengthens you in the end. The people who try to hold an optimistic view of this world would become pessimists: the people who hold a pretty stern view of it become optimistic.”

I think Lewis is correct.  What we expect strongly influences what we think.  Today illustrated that.  My good Nigerian friend Chebozie planted the positive idea that we would get everything done and move into the apartment today.  I was psyched and packed my bags.

I got to campus about 0830 and waited until about 1130.  Finally someone volunteered to take me to the apartment.  We searched for about 30 min, then finally found it.  The exterior was surprisingly nice.  There is a guard in front (well he/she wasn’t there, but assume they will be at night), there is covered parking, a reasonably nice courtyard, and an overall nice appearance, within sight of the South gate of the University.  I was optimistic even more.

We climbed up to the top floor, opened the door, and found a fairly nice apartment pretty much stripped of everything but furniture.  There were no curtains, pillows, pots, pans, security system, plates, utensils, washer, drying rack, dish drainer, a/c, or electrical adaptor for the fridge, which takes a special type.  Worse, there was NO electrical power.  The last profs who lived here, did they take EVERYTHING when they left??

I was surprisingly devastated.  My hopes had simply been too high, that is all.  Had we NOT lived in Sweden, where EVERYTHING was right there for us, I might NOT have had such high expectations.  But the failure is mine.

In the final analysis, it isn’t the best approach to be a total pessimist, but our expectations must be honestly realistic, and that is where I failed.  For a few hundred Pula, all will be put right.  I am forced to stay in a nice hotel with free meals.

Tomorrow will look better, and the next day too.  But… let’s not be too optimistic either.

Blessings.