This morning in meditation the words of the song “I love you just the way you are…’ came, which got me pondering…

How willing are you to let people be themselves and love them just the way they are?

What expectations do you have of loved ones, friends, colleagues?

Is your love and acceptance conditional in any way?

Like leaves on a tree, we’re all different, and, at the same time, we belong to the same family. Living from the diamond within our heart, being open-hearted, accepting difference asks us to focus on unique strengths and talents and let go of our judgements and beliefs.

We all have expectations about how to live, how things should be, how people should treat one another. Rather than hold onto what we’ve been taught about how to behave, how people should love us, being open-hearted is about accepting people for who they are and loving them just as they are.

Expectations – what we believe should happen as a result of what we think, say, do or plan – often have us feeling disappointed when things we want to achieve don’t turn out as we want. We forget that there’s so much in life over which we have no control – including how others are.

When it comes to people, it’s amazing what expectations we can have, and it’s only when we get upset, when they don’t live up to our most likely unspoken expectations, do we see how ridiculous our expectations can sometimes be. And we can have a laugh at our self.

The more we give people the space to be who they are, the more joyful our relationships can be.

Of course, it’s good to practise being open-hearted with yourself first; and the old saying ‘do unto others as you would do unto you’ is a great place to start when you want to practise being open-hearted.