What to do with Disappointment.

I stole some of this from Wikipedia’s description of disappointment: Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations to manifest. Disappointment is one of two primary emotions involved in decision-making.

Decision-making is a regular part of everyday life. I don’t know about you, but I definitely weigh the feeling of disappointment against the feeling of accomplishment when I am thinking of making a decision. I have learned to guard my heart in these times because the blow of disappointment causes pain. So I don’t get too into either side of a decision before the outcome comes. I call it being neutrally aware.

Everyone experiences the feeling of disappointment at some point in life. It is what you do with it when it happens that matters the most. I remember learning this at my first women’s retreat- when I was 15 years old. You see, we can choose to shove disappointment down inside- like a trash compactor… and pretend that it isn’t there or act like it didn’t happen. Or you can work through it and let your heart experience it. Grieve it- talk about it with a friend… Talk about it with the Lord. If you choose to shove it down, and then you keep shoving down disappointment upon disappointment- eventually, it is going to explode one day and it won’t look or feel so great. You won’t be able to work out where it’s all coming from.

For example, the other day I was chatting with a friend on the phone and something happened while we were talking and I completely lost it—sobbing and I felt like my world was falling apart. Only to realize that it was only the icing on top of the cake to a hard week… So I had to look at the main reasons for this good cry that was taking place. I should have been taking better care of my heart that week- and making sure that I was on top of what I was feeling. Luckily, I had someone right there on the phone to talk me through what I was feeling… It helped me so much to externally process and get it all out in the air. It was a blessing. One of God’s kisses to me.

I feel like I am learning the basics again this week. Or at least I am being kindly reminded of them. My goal is to keep my heart soft and open… to breathe in every moment- to be fully awake- no matter how beautiful or how cloudy the moment may feel. It is never all for nothing.

Another big part is learning to take care of me in all of this. Am I sleeping enough? Am I eating the right things? Have I been drinking enough water? Simple but impacting… Beni’s blog helps me learn, too- how to take care of me. http://benijohnson.blogspot.com/

HAVE A FANTASTICAL WEEK! Take care of you…

Camille