I hope to win the lottery but as I only buy a ticket every six months I don't expect to win!!
I think there is a difference between the two but and I also think our expectations can bring resentment if they are unrealistic.
For me the important thing is to know and REMEMBER the possibilities of the future greatly exceded what my 'ickle mind can contemplate. Hopes and expectations lie within what we can concieve of which is only a fraction of what can happen. If we look at world events we see the same reflected, we concieve of terrorist attack but not one so great, then we concieve of terrorist attack that IS a disaster (our conceptions changed by events). But LIFE is bigger than what we concieve - who concieved of the Tsunami? or Katrina? Who concieved on that scale? And good surprises too, who would concieve of the level of aid raised for tsunami victims over the following months?
My life taught me that things beyond ANY conception can rapidly become real. Just as 'life' can conspire to through unlikely and deranged cr@p at a person, sometimes life conspires to through something equally unlikely but utterly good. We just have to wait and see!
Expectations have a place in a personal life as much as they do in world events, they can help prepare us, give us comfort, and help guide how we need to grow - AS LONG AS we remember we cannot see the future until we get there, as long as we think carefully about what we expect.
From fellow humans I expect mistakes and I expect eventually I will be let down because I haven't a single close friend or person known for any length of time that I haven't let down at some point. I make mistakes so I expect others to do the same. I've reacted in anger and purposefully hurt people, even committed cruel acts, I have ignored suffering, and shown selfishness I find hard to explain and yet I've tried to do right as well, tried to learn, sometimes helped - so I couldn'texpect perfection of motive or deed from anyone else - nor do I expect them to only act for themselves.
I commit myself to learning because I believe it's our understanding that tempers our expectations - BUT I still know I have to WAIT to see the future.
As for hopes; I think to free the mind to wonder through positive and possible things without expectation is SO healthy, after all we often 'worry', we often let our minds wonder through bleak events not happened yet - just because they are possible.
I still hope to win the lottery - I still don't expect I ever will.
Edit - I would also add that I believe we have expectations we never become aware of until they are thwarted or exceded - then suddenly our sense of shock highlights the difference between all things we had expected and real life occurances.