Austin ModHouse

Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases. This is a Buddhist belief.

A similar cause and effect can be said of Expectations. 

I go to the kite festival with an expectation of catastrophic failure. It's something I've come to understand as the norm from experience at previous kite festivals.

"Failure is always an option"- The Mythbusters 

That's a big success right there! The Millennium Falcon flew well and avoided the trees, as well as other kites (mostly).

Our other kite, the bee.... took flight, and quickly made a B line for the tree line. 

Expectation and desire for a tree-less flight pattern led to disappointment.  

Relief came in the form of a kind stranger with monkey like tree climbing ability, and a stick.  

I admit, I half expected the tree limb to break, along with a few of his bones. Park Police had a similar concern and offered a few words of advice, "DON"T CLIMB THE TREES. THEY"RE PROTECTED!".  

The string was cut, kite recovered. Scissors are a very useful tool at the Zilker Kite Festival. Knotted kite strings are almost guaranteed. Any expectation of not cutting the kite string will often result in disappointment.

#1 son DID see great success with the Star Wars themed kite. It flew at the maximum height allowed by the string length. The Bee has been retired.  

#2 son DID fly the Millennium Falcon kite. But he gave up quickly. His expectation that kite flying was easy proved to be unfounded. He expressed his dissatisfaction to his mother causing a domino effect. Her desire and expectation to make him happy with kite flying led to disappointment.

MEANWHILE! I declared Zilker Kite Festival of 2016 a success! We left the park with BOTH kites in tact and one had  flown to such great heights.

All was not lost... We managed to rescue a rather crappy weekend with a few old tricks... 

SMILE! Her favorite Mosaic, straight from the source! We stopped at the Hops and Grains for a fresh one.  

After a Mosaic, we paid Jorge a visit at Chinatown Westlake.  

Expectations were met. It was all good. Some times things work out well. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I see a lot of Mosaic and Sushi in our future.

This is "No-Name Roll #2". Our regular "no-name roll" is going to appear on the menu as "Picture Roll". Apparently somebody likes to take pictures of their sushi... NN-Roll #2 features a drop of truffle mayonnaise on the top. Kat approved.  

Expectations that the application of sandals in the dark will result in a matched pair will result in disappointment and suffering.

Other expectations that can lead to frustration and disappointment,

Dinner plans: Expectations that dinner will happen on time, or at all.

It's great when plans work out. The reality is that there is always a fair chance plans won't work out. It's great when plans unfold as expected, but it should be seen as a treat, not something we are entitled too.

Communication: Expectations that the words issued will result in the clear transfer of a thought or idea.

Miscommunication can be a frustrating, but realistic part of the human experience. Something formed in one brain, is not easily relayed to another. It should be assumed that verbal expressions of ideas are received as a  gobbledygook of symbols or sounds that don't reform in an intelligible manner. It's a great accomplishment to be able to transfer a thought or idea. But if it's an expectation, it can lead to disappointment and suffering. Expectation and desire to clearly communicate a thought from one brain to another are as likely as Evel Knievel jumping the Snake River. At least HE went into that deal with the understanding that his chance at success was remote. Evel kept his expectations low.

Yoda also had words of wisdom that relate to fear of loss. Although he did not necessarily apply them to kite flying or dinner dates, relevant they are:

Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose. ..The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side." >> Yoda