Movies

We love watching movies. Some films we’ve watched a dozen times and quote along with the movie. We also love movie accoutrements, specifically candy and popcorn. Movies are best with the lights down, snuggled under blankets, and with plenty of treats. 

One weekend, we were enjoying our show, and a family-size bag of Hot Tamales came out. We love the spicy cinnamon candies. Robin ate a couple and said, “Weird. That one was really sweet.” Eva tried a couple. “Yeah, I got a gross one, too.” Like smelling spoiled milk, everyone had to weigh in with an opinion. It was true, every once in a while, one of the red candies was disgusting. But many of them were still good, so we didn’t want to pitch them. 

We decided the factory made a mistake. 15% of the bag was cherry-flavored Mike and Ike candies, and the rest were Hot Tamales. I like Mike and Ike almost as much as I like Hot Tamales, but I was expecting something spicy, and I got sweet instead. It was gross. 

The problem wasn’t the candy. The problem was my expectations. I expected one thing and got something different. I was disappointed. 

The cherry candies weren’t aware of my expectations and didn’t deserve my disappointment. We didn’t enjoy the mix, but we could have tried to sort them. Sometimes, it isn’t the thing that is disappointing. Sometimes, it is wrong expectations. 

Can I pause my disappointment to distinguish between the thing and the expectation? Do I need to sort differently or change my approach? Am I measuring satisfaction the right way? 

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.