Disappointment

There's a song with that title by the 90's group, The Cranberries. I'm dating myself, but I totally loved the Cranberries and still do. Dealing with dissapointment is where I'm at right now in life. It's ironic, because in the grand scheme, my life is wonderful. But yes, just like everyone else, there are moments, expectations and even people that can cause disappointment. Ironic also, that I deal with getting over dissapoinment every day with my children. It's a constant. I use so many techniques--there's the distraction -- but look at this instead! There's a promise of a better thing or activity. There's explaining that what they are disappointed about is really not worth their energy --there's so much else to be grateful for!!
It's harder to try these techniques and for them to be effective and, more importantly, long lasting on myself. Ha! I'm not a genius, just a mom. Dealing with disappointment is probably God's way of teaching us so many lessons--humbleness comes first to mind. There are so many feelings that come with it too--anger, sadness, self-doubt, it can go on and on. I'm realizing that those feelings are so real, so raw at times, that it's ok to feel them; it's ok to feel human and acknowledge these feelings. Yesterday, in the middle of my own pity party, full of tears, angry and lying in bed experiencing all these emotions and also trying to stop them or rationalize them, I realized that it's ok for me to feel them. To let them come and then to let them go. Let the tears flow. It's a way of getting in touch with something very human, that's part of me. Perhaps one day I'll transcend these feelings, when disappointment occurs. Maybe even, disappointment will be something so small to me because there will be grander things--who knows--with age comes wisdom and many other virtues. For now, I'm dealing with the dissappointment and trying those techniques I use with my children. Getting up and dusting my pants and grabbing a pair of sneakers to go for a run instead. It's also giving me a little extra fuel, because after dealing with dissappointment, you're a little tired, but once that goes away, you're also energized by some of those same feelings of anger that you felt before. So in a way, dissappointment is a low but usually one that goes away gradually. Once you come out of those emotions--there are definite highs.