I really enjoy reading, but I am an extremely picky reader.

Mostly, I read non-fiction on subjects that interest me (Medicine, Christianity, Artistry, Memoirs etc.)

But, on occasion, I brave the world of fiction and it's usually for a nice "bubblegum" paperback.

One of my more recent fiction adventures has been The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I picked this beauty up at a used book store during a bag of books event and was enthralled by its campy and intriguing plot.

Not long after finishing, I realized that this book had been made into a movie and, recently I found it at my local public library, available for check-out. You bet your bottom dollar I grabbed it up.

But what I found etched into the used DVD was not what I expected.

Some imposter had taken my beloved McLaughlin and Kraus story and twisted it to fit the Hollywood mold. The movie I saw before my eyes had tracings of the original storyline, but was deeply disappointing to me. It was a fine movie, but not at all what I had envisioned.

How often does that happen? Not just with books and movies, but in life?

Many times we walk into situations with expectations, but expectations are restricting.

Expectations tell us that anything reaching beyond or below our expectations is not to be tolerated, is a deviation in plan, and can throw our whole balance of life off.

Dramatic? Or actual thought processes?

I don't have a solution to this expectation issue, but I can say this:

I know we can let go.

I know we can let go of the restriction of expectation.

It just takes practice.

We can practice letting go of expectation and intentionally walk into a new experience with an open mind. Not tied to what could or should or would happen, but the excitement that something will happen, and that something is worth chasing.

Let go of the restriction. A life well lived involves no restriction.

Walk into something new with fresh, wide eyes.

And then tell me how you did it.