Great Expectations

Great Expectations

August 7, 2012

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

Ask what you can do to be a better human being and fight for your ideals.

Ask how you can improve your quality of life by making this a better world.

Jonh F. Kennedy’s speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world…ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man.” was delivered at his inauguration in Washington on January 20th 1961.

In that speech he was making an oath to his nation but more so to its people. Through his words he was conveying an overly important message that he was indeed compromised to improve his society’s standard of life, but he was also inviting them to reflect and think how together they could reach that goal.

He was luring them to fight for their freedom and ideals and how were they to get there? By thinking, defining the issues, tackling them and acting upon them. That was one of the most memorable speeches in the United States as it held high principles and expectations from everyone. He engaged with society by touching an important matter and enticed all fellow citizens to not only expect from him, the leading figure but reciprocate to get better and speedier results.

This principle should be applied in every aspect of life because we have a tendency to hold high expectations from everything and everyone yet very few times are we willing to reciprocate and expect from ourselves.

That’s why many personal, family and business relationships fail…we expect, expect, and expect. I’ve been there, done that; that is exactly why a few of my previous relationships have failed, that’s why unnecessary family feuds have arised in the past but in the long run they have all been learning experiences. I no longer call them mistakes because I don’t like inclining towards negativity.

Just like with any experience, life is the best school making it impossible NOT to get the hang of those experiences unless we are on denial.

Now to avoid crashing and burning again I personally ponder upon this:

Ask not for others to change; ask for change within.

Ask not to have more; ask for guidance and kindness to be a giving soul.

Ask not why there’s no momentum in my life; ask what am I not doing to build it.

Ask not why my marriage is unsuccessful; ask what am I not doing to make it better.

Ask not why am I not better looking; ask how can I be more appreciative and content with the virtues I was given.

Ask not what society can do for me; ask how can I contribute to make it better.

Ask not why can’t I find my purpose; ask what can I do to live a more spiritual life.

Ask not what nature can do for me; ask how can I nurture it to keep it pure and alive.

And last but not least, I learned this phrase from E. M. a young business owner who we interviewed for the Road to Tequila on March 26 at the primer foro de agave.

“No other plant brings more to México than agave…So ask not how much profit we can get from agave, instead ask how can we keep our land fertile and our agave healthy and long-lasting to feed us, our families and the many generations to come.”

“And the high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule, or to impose himself in any other way.”  

Albert Einstein

“El destino alto del individuo es servir en lugar de regir.”

Hold great expectations from the person that looks at me in the mirror every morning.