Disappointment may seem to be a rather bleak subject, especially for a guy who’s just starting his website blog, but if you think about, disappointment is really just a feeling that everyone struggles with every once in awhile. No big deal. When it comes to disappointment, however, the crux of the matter is not the feeling itself, but why you’re disappointed. This leads to a question I found myself pondering today is, “What’s worse; disappointment in others, or disappointment in yourself?”

There is almost nothing quite as aggravating when somebody tells you they’re going to do something, and then they let you down. If someone tells you they’re going to shut the door when they leave, and then don’t, that’s not really a big deal to me. But other examples that have more of an impact on issues that really matter in my life, that’s a totally different story.
“Has something like this happened lately to you, Guinn?” you’re asking yourself. Yes. “Has it happened before?” Yes. “If it’s happened before, then why are you making a big deal out of it?”
I don’t know. It’s so odd, but you think you would get used to letdown and frustration after so many times of experiencing it. But every time you get hit with it, it stings just about as much as the first time.

And I don’t want to sit here with the appearance of a holy, clean person. I know that other people have gone through the same things I have. In fact, I’m guilty of being the one who has let others down. Sometimes it was intentional, sometimes it wasn’t. Humans are real peculiar creatures that will do peculiar things when they feel threatened or uncomfortable; what’s even more incredible is how they justify their actions…or their lack of action.

Lack of action is often how I’ve disappointed myself. I felt like I’ve achieved a good number of things in my life; those things make me proud. But there’s a number of things I wish to have achieved by now and I haven’t; in those things I’m disappointed. That’s how most of us feel; so how is it when we don’t come through for ourselves, we get disappointed, but when we don’t come through for others, we don’t always have that same feeling? Interesting.

Whether it’s disappointment in yourself or in others, it’s my view that life is a series of disappointments, interrupted by moments of triumph and glory. This sort of thought doesn’t describe someone who’s pessimistic, just someone who has lived. I do believe in God and a path that he’s set before us, and the only thing I can do is press toward those goals. I also believe the only way that you’ll ever truly benefit from hope and joy, is to walk through pain and disappointment.