November 30, 2016 – Disappointed

Disappointed?

 “There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love…

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Martin Luther King, Jr.(1929-1968) American Baptist minister, civil rights leader

     The feeling of disappointment is much with us these days, especially as we observe the many conflicts and injustices throughout the whole world―and try to deal with the results of the recent presidential election. Some of us are relieved, some of us are sorely disappointed; no one seems particularly happy.

     The words “expectations,” and “hopes” seem to appear together a lot with the idea of “disappointment.”

       Many say, “Don’t have any expectations and you will never have any disappointments.” That doesn’t seem to help much since we all do have expectations, wisely or not, like it or not.

     Keep in mind what King says in his opening words above: The reason you’re feeling disappointed is that you care a great deal, you love, you hope. So let’s not stop that.

     Maybe if we were to learn the difficult lesson of keeping our expectations “realistic”―whatever that might mean―we could get back to hope a little sooner, a little easier.

     A question for your quiet moments this week: How do I want to handle inevitable disappointments?