That expectation sometimes—or often—leads to disappointment should be no surprise. Regardless of its cause or nature, all disappointment follows expectation. Expectation is a feeling about a promising future that propels the brain in a river of hope’s hormones. Just like rivers, expectation can carry us along on a sometimes-exhilarating ride. Life is a downstream phenomenon on that river, but it is also a passage around unknown meanders toward an unknowable distant terminus hidden by Earth’s curvature.
All rivers, like the landscapes they traverse, are ephemeral features. That’s true of expectation, also. Sometimes rivers have more, sometimes less water in the channel just as expectations vary in degree. The change in flow results from phenomena outside the channel, such as the amount of precipitation in a distant highlands where small streams pay ever-increasing tribute to make a larger stream. The Allegheny and Monongahela, for example, join to make the Ohio that pays, with other streams, such tribute to the Mississippi. Expectation, like a river, lies between source and mouth: We are often unaware of conditions that add to the total discharge. When drought occurs in the highlands, rivers run low. In rainy weather, they might flood. The expectation is that the river will eventually, regardless of flow, reach the sea.
Some rivers discharge into lakes. The Truckee River ends at Pyramid Lake in Nevada. There is no further advance of the water. There is no outlet to the sea. Nothing greater lies beyond. No further flow takes place. That’s often the nature of expectation and the reason that it can lead to disappointment. From Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, the river is full of promise that there’s more to see and do along its channel. Then the river flows into the lake. End of story. “Isn’t there more?”
We reach a lake of disappointment when we make the lake, and not the river, the goal of our expectations. The flow, however great or small, is its own reward. Pleasure lies in anticipation. Enjoy the time you spend on the river.
All rivers, like the landscapes they traverse, are ephemeral features. That’s true of expectation, also. Sometimes rivers have more, sometimes less water in the channel just as expectations vary in degree. The change in flow results from phenomena outside the channel, such as the amount of precipitation in a distant highlands where small streams pay ever-increasing tribute to make a larger stream. The Allegheny and Monongahela, for example, join to make the Ohio that pays, with other streams, such tribute to the Mississippi. Expectation, like a river, lies between source and mouth: We are often unaware of conditions that add to the total discharge. When drought occurs in the highlands, rivers run low. In rainy weather, they might flood. The expectation is that the river will eventually, regardless of flow, reach the sea.
Some rivers discharge into lakes. The Truckee River ends at Pyramid Lake in Nevada. There is no further advance of the water. There is no outlet to the sea. Nothing greater lies beyond. No further flow takes place. That’s often the nature of expectation and the reason that it can lead to disappointment. From Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, the river is full of promise that there’s more to see and do along its channel. Then the river flows into the lake. End of story. “Isn’t there more?”
We reach a lake of disappointment when we make the lake, and not the river, the goal of our expectations. The flow, however great or small, is its own reward. Pleasure lies in anticipation. Enjoy the time you spend on the river.
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