As I opened the package labelled ‘Iced Wine tea’ the most beautiful aroma filled the air. I was curious & excited.
I hadn’t known there was such a tea available, the instructions indicated it could be enjoyed hot or iced once brewed.
The aroma & name of this tea had my expectations rather high for a delightful tea adventure.
Welcome to our time of reflection…
It is a hot summer’s day, I have brewed the tea & placed enticing cupcakes on a pedestal cake stand.
My husband, has his usual Australian black tea & we are sitting surrounded by the beauty of our garden.
The preparations are now complete for this anticipated exciting taste adventure…
I pour the cooled amber liquid into my icy glass & lift it to my lips, closing my eyes to linger in the moment of that very first sip of a new taste…
But my expectations were sadly not met, this tea’s flavour has both an initial & lingering chemical taste that was rather pungent & unpleasant.
This had me pondering upon our reflection today….
Of my own high expectations of this little tea adventure & the desired outcome I had been hoping to experience…
Expectations, are interesting aren’t they?
We often have expectations of loved ones, relationships, society, ourselves & experiences (like my tea adventure).
The problem with expectations though are that they are constructed from our own perceptions of cultural, familial & personal experience.
They involve a mixture of imaginings, core beliefs, hopes, standards of past experiences & behavior, either positive or negative that have impacted us.
We combine these, to have an anticipated imagined outcome.
This can put undue pressure both on the focus of our expectation & upon ourselves. Giving an unrealistic level of expectancy which may result in disappointment.
This then may lead to constructing unfair judgements against whatever or whoever has not meet our expectations.
To be fair, there may be circumstances surrounding the practicality of our unmet expectations…
In the case of the tea, it may simply be a bad batch or past its prime.
If it’s an unmet expectation of a loved one in our life…
They may not be able to meet our expectations because of their own circumstances in life, that we are not privileged to or it is simply beyond their capacity in this season of their life.
It is absolutely healthy to look forward to the goals, events, experiences, time with loved ones & our personal bests in life, even stretching beyond our comfort zones for new personal growth.
But it is very unhealthy to have expectations of others & ourselves that can never be met!
Because they are unrealistic & have been constructed in our own imaginings.
So, may we be kinder in our expectations of others & ourselves.
May we include actual practicality, understanding, love & respect for another if they can not meet our expectations.
May we also include our own realistic personal capacities in what we expect of ourselves & be fluid in the changing seasons of our life.
Living our personal best & enjoying the moments within that season.
Lastly, may we see the beautiful moments in a tea adventure that wasn’t quite the taste experience that was expected.
But none the less was a delightful time with a loving & caring man in the garden he cultivates.
With birds chirping & chortling, delicious cup cakes & companionable times of chatting…
Until next time,
Jennifer
You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook
Or
In Prayer
© 2018 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog All Rights Reserved. Photo on Pexels.com
Tea With Jennifer 
Fantastic use of metaphor to encourage reflection Jennifer! Taking time to stop and examine our expectations is so important. I’ve learned a lot, as you know from my previous few posts about setting unrealistic self-expectations! Thanks for this reminder, definitely an area that I need to continue to reflect on.
Thank you Marie, glad you enjoyed the analogy 😀
Oh, I was so hoping that was going to be delicious with such a grandiose name as Iced Wine Tea! But I’m glad you were able to learn from the experience and remind us all about the dangers and disappointments of unmet and unrealistic expectations… plus, I love absolutely your photos! Thanks for sharing, Jennifer. Stopping by from #RaRaLinkup
Yes, I agree Laura but there can be silver linings in every situation. Lovely having you drop on fro RaRa!
Jennifer, I’m so glad that you re-posted this at the #Teaandword linkup today where we are neighbors! It was just what I needed to hear, especially this: “be fluid in the changing seasons of our lives.” Even when I think that I am offering my expectations to the Lord, I realize that I have been holding back when the disappointment settles in over things that I had hoped to be able to join in with. Oh may I allow the Lord to set those seasons for me, and trust Him with all my own expectations too. He does have good gifts for us, just as He gave you that precious time with your husband. Blessings to you!
Definitely Bettie, I’m blessed that God used this today to bless you! ♥
This is totally delightful, Jennifer, and an outstanding metaphor on the thorny issue of expectations that can plague us all at different seasons with different people and things. The challenge is to not have them been idealistic to the nth degree or so negative that we find ourselves in despair or a self-fulfilling prophecy. Great to visit you!
Thank you, yes we need to be very mindful of our imagings & those in the practicality of real life…don’t we.
I like your point of a self fulfilling prophecy too! Very true! Self sabotaging…as well!
So lovely you dropped by!
I was ready to go buy that tea until you told us how it tasted. Great post!
Thank you, another blogger said her Iced Wine tea was great so it may have been the batch or my taste buds!
Glad you dropped by!
Linking food/drink to unmet expectations is helpful, thank you! This is a lovely illustration. Thanks for all the wise points, so glad to be reminded about the effect of expectations today!
Lovely to have you drop by, glad you enjoyed our time together!