The advantage of disappointment

I subscribe to Neale Donald Walsh's regular emails with thoughts on life and spirituality. The messages are sent in the context of "What I believe God wants you to know," and are usually a quick thought followed by a short paragraph that reinforces the thought. Over time, I have found that he often says exactly what I need to hear for whatever is going on in my life or that his thoughts reinforce my own, which is very reassuring. A recent message was one that I already try to live by day-to-day because I have found that this thought process is perhaps the one single change that can have the most affect on spiritual evolution or changing one's life.  His message was:

I believe God wants you to know...that disappointment is temporary. Only your thought is permanent.  Change your mind about what has disappointed you and you will change your life. All disappointment is just Advantage, looked at from the other side.

When my own spiritual journey went from gradual progression into high gear a few years ago, this concept was what was the most memorable to me...being grateful for disappointments or painful experiences and seeing them as gifts. I had a moment in which time stood still, while events of my life flashed before me like a rolodex of images and thoughts, flipping in front of me in great speed, yet I could feel and understand each and every one of them in a very deep and profound way. It was as if my life, both "good" and "bad" times, had been woven together into a perfect tapestry that had led me to that very moment, had prepared me in a perfect way for an awakening to a new journey and calling.

I have always been a person who gave forgiveness rather easily, understanding that difficult events make us stronger, and that as long I grew from an experience or learned from it that it wasn't entirely a loss. But in this moment, there was a much deeper beauty and awe at the perfection of "my plan", or as some would call it, "God's plan for me." Forgiveness is a wonderful and powerful energy, but it is not nearly as strong as the emotion of gratitude, which can truly change our lives. When we get to a place where we can not only let go of our own "mistakes" (forgiving ourselves) and those things that have perhaps been done "wrongly" toward us (forgiving others), but actually appreciate them, we experience transformation. By moving into a space of absolute gratitude for each experience, understanding that it was all perfect, that it was a beautiful gift of opportunity and growth for us, we are then on our way to deep awakening. We shift into a space where we begin to truly let go of judgment against ourselves and others. It is in this space where we become closer to God/Source and can begin to have a more personal and profound relationship with Him and with the Universe, not dictated by anyone else. It is in this space where miraculous things begin to unfold around us.

Begin to see your disappointments as Advantages, gifts that will allow you faster growth and new opportunities that will be grander than you have ever envisioned. As Neale wrote, it will change your life.

(Photo by aussiegall on flickr)

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