Dealing With Disappointment

Karheen Passage

7" x 4.5"

Mixed media monoprint

My alarm was set to go off early this past Monday, July 4th.  Even though it was our nation's holiday I was not going to be chilling out and taking life easy.  No, I had an adventure to take! So I was up and at it early, going over my hiking stuff one more time. Hiking boots, CHECK! Water, CHECK!  Camera, CHECK!  Small watercolors and sketchbook, CHECK!  Camera, CHECK!

Soon I was heading my little Bronco down to my artist friend Pam's house, where we headed out to meet up with another artist friend Rae Ellen.  We were excited to hike the Skyline Divide Trail on Mt. Baker, described as a "summertime paradise of unrivaled mountain views and unending wildflower fields" (WTA.org).  

Mt. Baker

9" x 12"

Oil

Well, the hike was not to be.  Factor in the Pacific Northwest weather....yes, cloudy, cool, and rainy.  Not great for hiking, sketching, and viewing great vistas!  So......what do you do?  We had all our gear packed and were so anticipating the fun of a great climb together.  The weather brought all that to a screeching halt!  What we did instead was to jump right into creating art at Rae Ellen's home in the forest.  Perched by large windows near her dining table hoping to see the local bear stroll by, we enjoyed having Rae Ellen teach us the process of making monoprints.  The first photo at the top of this blogpost is a feeble attempt by me to create a monoprint on a topographical map.  It was fun learning a new technique and we had a lot of good laughs.  That afternoon we did hike a short trail along the Nooksack River, although it was quite muddy and wet.

 To top it all off, Rae Ellen served us a steaming hot bowl of Sweet Potato Soup for supper.  Though disappointed in not getting a great hike in, we still made the best of the situation.

All of us encounter disappointments in life.  Some are minor, but some mess with our hearts deeply.  How do we deal with disappointments?  Here are several tips that might help you through the difficulty:

*  Embrace the reality of a disappointment.  Yes, it actually happened.  Acknowledge how it makes you feel.  Some disappointments are a deep sorrow, and time needs to be a healing factor.  Trusted friends can also be a sounding board to listen, advise, and pray for and with you.

*  Assess the reasons for a disappointment.  Were your expectations too high?  Or did you misunderstand the situation?  Sometimes the reasons are unknown or beyond our control.  

*  Move on to the next thing or a creative alternative.  If you stay focused on the disappointment, you can grow resentful.  Instead, use it as a springboard to something new or different.  It can promote growth in your soul.  Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."  Seek to grow even from negative experiences.  "Determine to make the most out of every situation," says Kathy Ireland.  Don't let any circumstance go to waste.  Make it work for you!  Someone once said, "The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them."

We all want to live with hope in our circumstances.  It's what keeps us going, like a candle in the dark spaces of life.  The Bible says that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12)  God understands what makes us tick and how we function best since He created us.  He knows that we need hope.  He understands how disappointments can be crushing to us.  In Psalm 23 King David described the Lord as our Shepherd and because of that we have all we need.  Further, His shepherd's rod and staff were a comfort to David.  The shepherd used the rod and staff to protect the sheep against predators, but he would comfort the sheep by rubbing their necks gently with the rod or staff.  So, too, God's comfort is available to us if we turn to Him as our great Good Shepherd.  

Live bravely and beautifully!