Widening Horizon: Expectation Vs Reality
By TinTin Monsanto
Freelance Writer, Artist, And Singer Songwriter
March 2023
From the time we were born in this world, we were already programmed according to our destiny. The destiny to live and to die. Who knows what will happen to us when we die. Some believe that there is heaven and hell while some believe that the dead spirit will roam around a paradise or a purgatory. Hence, only those who had near-death experiences could really tell what it’s like. Whereas, there are people who can see entities beyond what normal eyes could see. I did not believe it before but after my experience of seeing a white lady ghost and shadows, I could not describe how perplexed I was at those times. I asked myself, if I could see ghosts lurking around, is heaven and hell real? Why are there spirits roaming around? Is it real or just a by-product of imagination? More and more questions needed some answers that even science could not explain. However, does death really matter or is it based on how you live your life?
There is no point trying to figure out what will happen to your spirit while your body is rotting six feet under if you don’t even know how to live while you are alive and kicking, isn’t it? I think the most important question we need to answer is, “How Did I Live My Life?”. Did I live my life to the fullest or stuck myself in a limbo?
There are a lot of things that dictate our lives. A lot of factors are affecting how we live. But it is all up to us which way we are going. Are we going to do good things? Are we going to be Karens of this generation? Are we going to ruin our lives because of all the traumatic events? Are we going to waste our talents? Are we going to take risks or not? And so on. Questions that most of us keep asking ourselves every single day but we fail to answer as we fail to take action.
What action?
Widening Horizon.
We are all living in a world revolving around fiction vs nonfiction or Science vs supernatural. However, it is more on “Expectation vs Reality”.
EXPECTATION vs REALITY
We are living in a lie that living is just an easy peasy and no problem can be solved. We believe that there is always a solution to every problem and that there is always a reason why things are happening. This gives us a wrong perception and we expect things that are unattainable.
We expect things to go well if we don't do anything.
We expect that there will always be people who will support us.
We expect to love and to be loved.
We expect to find high paying jobs.
We expect happiness.
We expect success.
We expect wealth.
We expect a good outcome.
We expect to lose weight.
We expect…
We live in this fantasy that things will fall into their right places. Thus, if it did not go into plan, we broke down into pieces. Some will be depressed, some will do harm to themselves, some will have lower self esteem. We all go down the hill.
Why?
It is for this reason “that” expectation is an assumption.
We assumed that the outcome would happen because that is what we wanted to happen. That is why when things go wrong, we crash. As a result, we think nothing but negativity and that everything we do is nothing but failures. To the point that we feel we are worthless. It is because in reality,
We expect things to go well if we don't do anything vs all good if we act on it.
We expect that there will always be people who will support us vs there are times you have to stand on your own
We expect to love and to be loved vs you cannot please everybody
We expect to find high paying jobs. vs different jobs, entry level, and salary grades
We expect happiness vs not everything is about happiness
We expect success vs failure is part of success
We expect wealth vs right investment and hard work.
We expect a good outcome vs not everything will go according to plan
We expect to lose weight vs there are variations in body types and metabolism.
It is a matter of having the right mindset which is necessary in widening the horizon.
I am a nurse by profession. However, being a nurse did not stop me from doing what I love. Despite my mental disorder, Bipolar, it did not stop me. I am a freelance writer, artist and singer songwriter. An artist of SV Studios under Direk Sheila Gamo and acted in short films such as Lilipad Ako, Pandemya, and May Katok that you can watch in youtube channel Sheila Gamo TV. I streamed live via MusiChat with my friends Francis Santos and Otep Domingo as we talked about topics that people may learn or be inspired by. I composed songs and my original are available in Spotify and all digital music stores and these are Leaves of Autumn, Mountain of Life, Strip Away, Make A Difference, and Frontliner
My career and my disability did not stop me from doing my passion and did not let it waste my talents. To tell the truth I did not know that I could do a lot of things if I did not open my world to all the possibilities. I grabbed that chance and changed my outlook on life.
Widening the horizon means you have to crack your shell and get out of your comfort zone. As you get out of it all the anxieties and fears will build up inside of you like a vacuum to the point you’ll feel overwhelmed with the changes. As you feel overwhelmed, the tendency is that you start to question your capabilities if you can do it or not? You’ll get confused. In the end, you will choose to give up. This is why having the right mindset is necessary.
Most of us, our life is like a ping pong ball between family and work or family and school. Due to this same cycle, it becomes a routine. If we are not doing anything other than work from Monday to Saturday, we feel burned out. No life outside of that circle, we became stagnant in which our lives became dull and boring. We have to be kinetic. We have to move in order to expand our world. When we expand and go out of our comfort zone, we learn things through people, events, and even experiences. Hence, we are building our self confidence and self esteem that make us fearless. We’ll be able to do things beyond what we thought was our limit. We will realize that we can still do things beyond what we could imagine that we have hidden talents or skills. From there, we will be able to improve and further hone our skills and talents in order for us to succeed. It will bring in a better perspective and realize that there are still things that we can do and “still” can do.
We are living in a toxic world or toxic society. There is always toxicity and negativity everywhere whether on the right, left, up, down, front or back. We need to get out from all of these factors. Why? Because, if we will just dwell with all these negativities nothing will happen in our lives. We will live for nothing but failures. Remember, the right mindset.
Negative is to negative and positive is to positive.
If you think negatively the outcome will be negative.
If you think positively the outcome will be positive.
However, negative also attracts. Thus, it is also a matter of choice.
If negative can attract positive, so choose positive.
If positive can attract negative, so choose positive.
Right choice, right mindset, right thinking will absorb positive energy. As our body absorbs the positive energy it will try to repel the negativity.
Do not be afraid to widen your horizon.
Do not be afraid to try new things.
Do not be afraid to make mistakes.
Do not be afraid to fail.
It’s all part of living. Get out of your comfort zone and live life to the fullest.
Live your life in the right way so you will not regret anything when your time is up.