To face disappointment is actually to be presented with an opportunity. It is incredibly difficult to recognize this in the moment but reflection and meditation help us see this more clearly. They allow us to shift from anger or even depression to gratitude and learning.
When we meditate, particularly during a chaotic time, we are re-oriented. We move from confused mind to clear mind, sometimes extremely quickly. The hardest part is getting past our own resistance. Sometimes we have to trick ourselves just to sit down and be still. Or others of us have to hit a bottom or experience devastation before we will commit to practicing.
One of the gifts of meditation is that we hit pause on discursive thinking: we “mix our minds” with elevated states of being and make space where there was once constriction. When we are liberated from gnawing thoughts, we connect with our true potential. We also see that the object of our attention – that dispute you had with your partner or boss – is not at all the thing responsible for your mood. While it may have served as a trigger, ultimately it’s the mind which is creating our reality.
Recognizing that we are not that which we so cling to means, truly, thankfully, we can be anything we wish to be. What follows is that we stop giving away our power and our peace. The focus swings from out there to back in. Our energy returns; our bodies ache less; we stop blaming the weather, the traffic, the media. We just chill out. Quieting the noise of disappointment lets us drops into more subtle states of being. This is where the vibration of inner knowing resides. Where happiness waits patiently with a kiss.