Disappointments are unavoidable in life. The question is, what will we get out of our disappointments? How, as Thoreau puts it, shall we be compensated by the discouragements that come our way?

Sometimes we don’t stick around after a setback long enough to receive any compensation. We hurry past the disappointment, eager to find a better moment, a happier experience. And sometimes we’re too busy grumbling and complaining about what happened. There’s no quiet, no readiness in our mind, emotions, or soul to receive any benefit when we’re disillusioned or disheartened.

So what can we gain from misfortune or when we face an impasse? Maybe it’s the lessons we learn, something as simple as “Don’t do that again.” Like “Don’t delete all the messages in your Archive folder in your Gmail account — and then delete them in your trash folder, too. Because that deletes all the email messages in your inbox. Yeah, been there, done that a couple of nights ago. A minor disaster, relatively speaking, but still … )

Or maybe one of the compensations of disappointment is the comfort we receive from others. I’m not talking about the “should have, would have” advice other people like to offer when we face defeat. No, I mean the encouraging words that hold no judgment … sometimes even the silent presence of friends who show up to just be with us.

The important thing is to not turn our backs on our disappointments — to not deny their existence. Only as we accept the hardships that come our way can we then discover everything they have to offer us — if we are quiet and ready.

In Others’ Words: What compensation — something positive — have you received from a disappointment in your life? 

[ctt template=”8″ link=”N388w” via=”yes” ]In Others’ Words: The Benefit of Disappointments https://ctt.ec/N388w+ #InOthersWords #quotes #facingdisappointments @bethvogt[/ctt] [ctt template=”8″ link=”8S_PR” via=”yes” ]”If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.” #quotes #Thoreau #disappointments @bethvogt[/ctt]

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Some romance-loving author friends and I are getting a head-start on Valentine’s Day with a fun giveaway!    Enter for multiple chances to win See’s chocolate, an adorable coffee mug, and a cozy red blanket, plus romance novels by Rachel Haul, Courtney Walsh, Denise Hunter, Becky Wade, Katie Ganshert, Susan May Warren, Melissa Tagg, and yours truly! The winner will be drawn on February 15th.
Enter here: https://promosimple.com/ps/b0e8