How disappointments yield opportunities

When we suffer disappointments in our lives, the first thing we may tend to think is that we failed. But if you drill down deeper into it, you may find that is not the case at all. It may be difficult to look past the pain when the disappointment is fresh, but after some time has gone by, look at the situation from a soul level and see what you have learned.

Maybe you’ve learned how to be more independent. Maybe you’ve learned a skill you will need for the future. Maybe you’ve learned who your true friends really are. Maybe you’ve learned how to be a  better partner…or a better person. Whatever your situation, look at what you have come away with from the experience. I guarantee you will find something of value if you look hard enough.

Our greatest disappointments may yield our greatest opportunities. I worked at a job I hated for over a year, but I gained valuable skills that I needed for jobs that came later that I enjoyed very much. Sometimes when one relationship doesn’t work out, a more suitable one follows, but you need what you learned at the previous one to make the subsequent one possible.

You can’t get to Y unless you first go through X. Sometimes X isn’t enjoyable, but you may still be better for the experience.  So when life hands you a disappointment, look for the lesson in it. You may find you’ve gained more than you realize.

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A time for new beginnings

I’ve heard it said that there is nothing special about New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, that they are just like every other day. Ah, not so, grasshopper. A day is what you make of it. Perception is everything.

These days are symbolic and special if you want them to be. Add significance to them and they become special, just like Christmas and birthdays. To some people, Christmas isn’t special because they don’t celebrate it, just as Hanukkah isn’t special or Kwanzaa isn’t special to those who have no knowledge of them. If a day carries no meaning for you, then yes, it is just like every other day.

But if you GIVE a day meaning, it can be very symbolic indeed. I am at a point in my life where I need a new beginning, a new focus, and this is occurring at the perfect time of year. This is the time for resolutions, for making changes. I know, most people who make resolutions don’t keep them. But some do. If you keep the faith and keep that resolution in your heart and in your resolve (after all, that’s what it means), you WILL keep that New Year’s resolution.

I’m not one to make resolutions, but if I were to have a goal for the new year, it would be to be happier and more spiritual, and I am already on that path.  And who knows where it will lead me? I’m thinking nowhere but up.

Life is such a struggle and we get so caught up in our daily lives. New Year’s Eve makes us take a step back and look at the big picture. We look at the previous year as a whole. What happened, what didn’t, what we would change. And it gives us a marking stick for the future. I’ll do “X” differently, or I will be more “Y,” or what have you. And that is a good thing.

Anything that makes us step outside ourselves to look at the big picture is a good thing. And New Year’s Eve makes us do that. It is not just another day. It is a time for new beginnings. It is a day you can make as significant as you want.

Happy New Year, tout le monde.

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