I’m not going to expound much on my thoughts in this post, only provide a few things to think about.

First, a quote about Mr. Charles Darnay from the book A Tale of Two Cities.

In London, he had expected neither to walk on pavements of gold, nor to lie on beds of roses; if he had had any such exalted expectation, he would not have prospered. He had expected labour, and he found it, and did it and made the best of it. In this, his prosperity consisted. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Two Promises

This got me thinking about prosperity and about my own expectations. In discussing this with a friend this scripture came up.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

And finally, I thought about this talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin, Apostle in the LDS Church: The Abundant Life. Here’s a quote from the talk.

Those who devote their lives in pursuit of their own selfish desires at the exclusion of others will discover that, in the end, their joy is shallow and their lives have little meaning. On a tombstone of one such person was carved the following epitaph: Here lies a miser who lived for himself, And cared for nothing but gathering pelf, Now, where he is, or how he fares, Nobody knows and nobody cares. 9 We are happiest when our lives are connected to others through unselfish love and service.

Let us all reflect upon our own expectations and priorities and make changes where necessary.