Disappointments

You'd think by retirement disappointments would be legion and not cause emotional responses anymore.

Not true.  I just had a disappointment, a writing assignment for which I truly believed I would be selected.  I felt it was my time for something special.  Not this time.

Reality is, special to whom?  Every day is special. Why did I put so much stock in this one item?

But the tears still trickle down my cheeks and a lump in my chest feels the disappointment.

How about you?  Are disappointments easier as age catches up or does it still take self-talk and distraction and moving on to get past some that just seem to hit negatively at the wrong time?

I'm not talking about trauma and tragedy, but rather the multitude of small disappointments and medium ones that a friend would say, "Don't let it bother you. It's not that important."  Yet, it felt important today.

5/9/2014

                           DK..

                                If I were there I would hug you, tell you dry those
                           beautiful eyes and say yes you tried but sometimes it
                           happens this way, next time it would be better. Now
                           let's go for a walk on the beach and have some coffee
                           at a cafe, and after all the stories and jokes I would
                           tell you I could see the light came back into your eyes,
                           you smiled, life will get better, that's the DK we know
                           and love.....

                                                           Cheers... Joe  

I don't get upset about anything since my brother died at the age of forty-three. He missed out on so much it would be criminal for me to feel disappointed about things that don't turn out the way I would have wanted. His children are now twenty-one and eighteen. He missed out on twelve years of watching them grow from young children to adults.

I tend to become very emotional and cry at the small successes I have achieved, but the failures provoke no response. I look back at the number of times I've failed and breathe a sigh of relief; had they been successes instead of failures, I would have heaped work on myself that I avoided by failing.

I don't try to impress others (which is stating the obvious!) and it doesn't bother me at all what anyone thinks or says about me. I know my heart is in the right place, and I don't need to convince others for confirmation. Peace of mind isn't something you can work at to achieve, and some people never get there, but I hope that, one day, you will find inner peace and contentment.

5/9/2014

                              DK..

                                    I agree with Shelagh and what she says. I've published six
                       books, created paintings ( Majority of these I've donated to charities
                       for children and pets,) I've done photography for 35 years, that gave 
                       me great pleasure, I joined an art site to sell my art and photography.
                       I've not sold much books, art or photography, you know what it doesn't
                       bother me, because I did my best I knew how, I'm proud and blush when
                       someone makes a nice remark about my photography or if someone gave
                       me a nice review on a book, negative ones I don't read. I'm happy, I have
                       done the things I love, so I'm not famous, I don't care, I've created many
                       paintings, books, photos that no one else in my family has the talent for, I'm
                       sure there is someone in my family's background who had talent. Chin up
                       be proud of what you've accomplished, I've had things come my way, they
                       fell through, so life goes on, the sun will always shine. As the Fred Astair 
                       song says: " Pick Yourself Up, start all over again."

                                                          Cheers.. Joe

What Shelagh and Joe said.

YOU ONLY FAIL, IF YOU DON"T TRY!

My Dad always said, "No problem is worth worrying about. There are only two kinds of problems.  
The ones you can do something about and the ones you can't.  If it's a problem you can do something about, do it and stop worrying about it.  If it's a problem you can't do anything about, then it's out of your hands, move on and quit worrying about it."

Thank you for your wisdom and kindness.each day is too precious to be sad. I did walk at the park.

It seems to me that the best way to get over disappointments is to admit to your feelings and feel them. Once you've given them their due moment, letting go and moving on is easier.

DK,
Don's advice is my advice.  It does not stop the hurt.
Love,
Betty