Good Monday Morning!
I hope you had a pleasant weekend! Despite the world’s state and its many disappointments, we can wake up and begin again each morning. That may sound trite and simplistic, but the plain truth is that we can choose to alter our perspectives each day. We can look courageously into situations with confidence, knowing that today’s disappointments don’t have the power to cast a shadow over the dreams of tomorrow without our permission.
Helen Oyeyemi, a British short story writer and novelist, shared these thoughts:
“However awful the storm of my disappointment, it’s a response that belongs to me. It’s my heart after all. My territory, my kingdom. And since I am the only one with the authority to surrender it, I can also take it back.”
Ms. Oyeyemi seems to encapsulate the essence of empowerment. In contemplating our reactions, even though we all face discouragement and disappointment from time to time, I found that some tend to address disappointment proactively while others merely ruminate. It seems that those who ruminate and muse about misfortune remain in that place of negativity. On the other hand, those who face disappointment with courage and tenacity tend to recover quickly and accomplish more due to the challenge.
Dr. Martin Luther King noted that “We must accept disappointment, but not lose infinite hope.”
Moliere, a French poet in the mid-1600s wrote, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
And Wes Fesler, triple-threat athlete and coach inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, shared these thoughts:
These are words to embrace during this unique time in our worlds’ history. We overcome darkness with light. We minimize the effects of disappointment by choosing to accept the existence without allowing circumstances to dictate our responses. The antidote to disappointment is acknowledging it and then thoughtfully and intentionally redirecting our perspectives to informative, productive, and empowering thoughts.
In Micah 7:8, we learn:
“My enemies, don’t be glad because of my troubles! I may have fallen, but I will get up; I may be sitting in the dark, but the LORD is my light.” (CEV)
And, in John 8:12, we read:
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (NKJV)
We all have the choice to be victims or victors. We can allow disappointment to overwhelm us, or we can stand firm against it to live to our purpose and hold space for others to do likewise. We can become empowered, even in the darkness. Like photography, striking images arise from the darkness.
This week, let’s challenge our responses to disappointment. Acknowledge them, process our reactions to them, then choose to change our perspectives and reposition ourselves to look to the light. The illumination will give us the clarity to ease both our anxiety and lead to more favorable decisions. Let the glow of your inner soul’s light be the antidote to disappointment and extinguish the darkness.
Have a lovely week filled with light!
Be Well & Be Blessed!
Lucinda
Comments by lucinda