Expectations

Lately I’ve got to thinking about what to expect from people. People you thought you knew for years can surprise you at the blink of an eye, but is that because you expected them to behave differently? Or put differently: if you don’t expect them to be thoughtful of their actions, will that protect you from being hurt by them? Does hurt come only from unfulfilled or missed expectations or can you in fact be hurt even when you expected to be, or when you had no expectations that could have been disappointed?

Fact is there really is no way of protecting yourself from those close to you from hurting you, whether you expect them to or not. The question that arises is how to deal with the hurt once it has happened. Does anyone have the perfect answer for me?