Anticipation is the Best Part
Just outside my door and down the stairs, following the path around the corner to the far, far back yard: the Fig Tree. The Fig Tree, that I swear, gives forth the sweetest, most sensuous, most delicious figs I have ever tasted. I have made a fool of myself over those figs in seasons past. As I pass on my way to the laundry room, I pause, I linger, I close my eyes in anticipation of what is certain to become a bacchanal in the backyard. But even before, as I go down the stairs, I must take care. Step by step, the climbing jasmine that clings to the railings twines ever closer toward my feet, its flowering so near to bursting, so near to releasing its intoxicating fragrance. Already I am inhaling deeply as I go up or down my stairs in anticipation of what will soon be olfactory bliss. Anticipation—that excitement, waiting eagerly for something to happen is a central motivating force in everyday life. Our imagination, often coupled with memory, speculates about something good in the future—our future. In my mind, I hear the lines from that song in West Side Story,
something’s coming’, somethin’ good, if I can wait…
This is what happens: when we anticipate something good happening, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released, resulting in positive feelings and along with them, increased arousal and excitement that can also feel good. Studies have shown that anticipation of future positive events resulted in enhanced brain activation that was associated with high levels of well-being. Researchers concluded that anticipating good things is associated with experiencing positive emotion, which in turn benefits mental health. Yay for good mental health. Now, some of you may have heard me talk about the upcoming publication of my memoir, which will be released in October and which is still a few long, long months away. To say I’m in a heightened state of anticipation would be a massive understatement, so I was especially glad to learn that even anticipating a smattering of small, delightful experiences can be as enjoyable as looking forward to one big event. Get excited about a lot of little things, Carrie L. Wyland, a social psychologist at Tulane University said. Apparently the accumulation of these mini-thrills means you’ll still reap the benefits of looking forward to something, even if it’s not a big-ticket reward. Hence my preoccupation with the burgeoning figs and the near-to-bursting-into-bloom jasmine. Smatterings of delightful experiences right in my own back yard.
Yes, yes, I know the goal of a Zen practice is to reach that state of enlightenment and that can only happen when we have no thoughts of achievement or longing. But I’m not looking for enlightenment right now. I'm going with the figs and the jasmine. I’m going with the anticipation that somethin’s coming, somethin’ good. “At the end of every day, write down one thing you’re excited for tomorrow," Wyland tell us. So tonight I’m going to write down something I’m excited for tomorrow.