hoping for karen

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” 
― Alexander Pope

when i was two years old, my mom took me to see the nutcracker. karen kain was dancing the role of clara and i fell in love with ballet, with karen kain, and with the nutcracker. 

that chrismas my dad rigged up the tree by tying it with fishing line to nails he put in the walls and the floor. all so that i could dance around the tree like clara. 

when i was 3, i started ballet lessons. and i stayed in dance class until i was 19. at 5, i started to get books about karen kain, who much to my pleasure, used to sneak out of dance school for donuts and pastries. 

my mom took me to the ballet to see karen kain 3 more times and every time .... all three times!! ... the understudy danced. no karen for me. 

i find that happens to me a lot. i go into something hoping for the best and end up disappointed. so how do we deal with disappointment? how do we pick ourselves up and keep going when your third trip in a row to the ballet has an understudy dancing?

1. share your feelings. there's nothing wrong with venting about your disappointment. it's better than keeping it bottled up.

2. ask yourself how serious your disappointment is. is not seeing karen kain dance as serious as losing a job? 

3. think about all the things that you are thankful for. the reality is that your list of gratefulness will likely be longer than your current disappointment. 

4. take some time to let yourself feel disappointed. it's ok. it's a feeling and it will pass (says nosy nora). but at some point it's good to start thinking positively. you can't stay disappointed forever. 

5. Practice acceptance and we may suffer less as it is happening and notice the good things in life more. Disappointment is a part of life, but all parts of life can help us grow. We can be present and aware even in the midst of negative emotions and therefore life more fully.  http://tinybuddha.com/blog/4-steps-to-deal-with-disappointment/

i'm not saying it's easy. i'm still hoping for karen. i have high hopes for good things to come. you have nothing if you don't have hope. 

hope. hope is the antidote for disappointment.  wikipedia defines hope as:

Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope


here is a guide to having hope if you are feeling hopeless ... http://www.wikihow.com/Have-Hope

hope. disappointment. it's okay to feel both of those feelings and everything in between. but it's important not to dwell on the disappointed side of the spectrum. 

You've gotta have hope
Mustn't sit around and mope
Nothin's half as bad as it may appear
Wait'll next year and mope - EDDIE FISHER      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkz-YSRAYdA

be kind to yourself, 
xoxo

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