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Feet of Clay
I have been pondering disappointment, of late. Certainly, anyone with any amount of time logged here on Gaia has faced their fair share of the stuff. Humanity is human and as such, we are prone to errors, missteps, hurtful actions, and unmet expectations.
Disappointment, like any of our emotions, can’t just be swept away. We need to have a good hard look at why we are giving this particular emotion power in our lives. I have found, in my own reflections, that my disappointment is directly linked to expectations. I expected that I would be a kinder, gentler, more perfect sort of Human. I expected that others would somehow understand what I needed from them without my uttering a word. I expected the world to be a fair, kind, gentle sort of place.
How does one deal with the emotional baggage of our disappointment and the disappointment of those we loved and failed?
First, let’s look at those expectations we place on ourselves. Are they actually reasonable? Are we trying to have it all? Are we running ourselves ragged on a treadmill of our own making? Are we holding ourselves, our emotions, and our actions to ridiculously high standards?
Have we forgotten how to forgive ourselves for our humanity?