Hope is not expectation

WHEN A YEAR COMES TO A END, WE ARE FOCUSED ON THE HOPES we pour into the new: ready to face different realities, to change what seems to have gone wrong in the past 12 months, eager to see the new things we await materialize, for ourselves, for those close to us, for those we don't even know. There's a big difference between this moment and the feeling we sometimes experience in our daily lives of living with unfulfilled expectations: things aren't going as we hoped. Something is missing, someone has behaved differently, we feel like we're losing control. A question arises: when does a hope turn into an expectation?
The two words are not synonymous at all. Hope speaks to us of a destination reached through unknown paths in times not dictated by us, the expectation of a predetermined path that must take us where we want, when we want. Hope can be found anywhere, inside or outside our lives. Expectation ultimately has me as its subject or object: I am the one who must reach a goal, or the reality around me must come to meet my standards.
A disappointed expectation breeds resentment. A hope that isn't realized translates into waiting. By its fruits we recognize which tree is the good one; let's not be fooled!
Hope is not expectation!

Eva & Ale
NP January 2026