Yes. Disappointment, when we stop treating it like a mistake, becomes an initiation. Not a punishment, but a pulling back of the veil.
The false self always thinks something went wrong. The deeper self knows this is the moment things begin to go right. Not because it feels good, but because it clears the way. It breaks the illusion we mistook for belonging. It calls us home to something truer.
Thank you, David. This reminds me that heartbreak is not the end. It is the threshold. And the ground it brings us to is real.
The false self is not the opposite of the deeper self. It is the mask the deeper self wears when it forgets who it is.
Not evil. Not separate. Just confused.
The false self builds a home out of strategies. The deeper self was never homeless. It simply fell asleep in the scaffolding.
So this is not a battle of opposites. It is a slow remembering. Not destruction, but dis-identification. The false self begins to fade when it is no longer needed to survive.
That is what grace does. It teaches us how to breathe without the armor.
If a cigar is sometimes just a cigar, then a disappointment is sometimes just a disappointment. A way to deny or negate a disappointment may sometimes be to call it resilience. Peace, Dwight Lee Wolter.
Such a luscious perspective announcing a place to land oneself in the pace of our self-hood of where we want to be taken towards. i desire to meet the frontier on this path.
Disappointment is the persistent teacher of living life from a source much deeper than the expectations of the ego, with the lessons of heartbreak to awaken us to our true purpose.
"Disappointment is just the initial meeting with the frontier of an evolving life, an invitation to reality, which we expected to be one particular way and turns out to be another, often something more difficult, more overwhelming and strangely, in the end, more rewarding." Yes to this.
Can we pleeeeeeease have these in audio version? I'd offer to make you the audio's (I'm a semi-professional VO artist) but obviously I, as well as everybody else, wants to hear this in David's voice!?
Quite wonderful to look at the end of an illusion of what one believed life should or would be and seeing the opening to hit the check box and move on. 🙏
Disappointment is one of the best teachers in this school called Life. When I look back on experiences where I have been disappointed, they have been the strongest calls to my own inner life and what needed to be examined. Thank you, David, for capturing the essence of disappointment both brilliantly and honestly.
Yes. Disappointment, when we stop treating it like a mistake, becomes an initiation. Not a punishment, but a pulling back of the veil.
The false self always thinks something went wrong. The deeper self knows this is the moment things begin to go right. Not because it feels good, but because it clears the way. It breaks the illusion we mistook for belonging. It calls us home to something truer.
Thank you, David. This reminds me that heartbreak is not the end. It is the threshold. And the ground it brings us to is real.
Beautiful.
Good points. But “The false self” is not the opposite of “The deeper self.”
Dwight, you're right to press in here.
The false self is not the opposite of the deeper self. It is the mask the deeper self wears when it forgets who it is.
Not evil. Not separate. Just confused.
The false self builds a home out of strategies. The deeper self was never homeless. It simply fell asleep in the scaffolding.
So this is not a battle of opposites. It is a slow remembering. Not destruction, but dis-identification. The false self begins to fade when it is no longer needed to survive.
That is what grace does. It teaches us how to breathe without the armor.
Thank you for helping refine the mirror.
Yes ! out missteps , where something needed to be revealed to lead us continuing to ‘the frontier’. A path of stepping along the route of evolving .
Disappointment as a catalyst for resilience and firmer footing of our self…such a gorgeous way to think of disappointment and so very true. Thank you!
If a cigar is sometimes just a cigar, then a disappointment is sometimes just a disappointment. A way to deny or negate a disappointment may sometimes be to call it resilience. Peace, Dwight Lee Wolter.
Love this @kate - I think you've picked out on of the most important nuances in this entire piece.
Such a luscious perspective announcing a place to land oneself in the pace of our self-hood of where we want to be taken towards. i desire to meet the frontier on this path.
Disappointment is the persistent teacher of living life from a source much deeper than the expectations of the ego, with the lessons of heartbreak to awaken us to our true purpose.
"Disappointment is just the initial meeting with the frontier of an evolving life, an invitation to reality, which we expected to be one particular way and turns out to be another, often something more difficult, more overwhelming and strangely, in the end, more rewarding." Yes to this.
See my comment below in reference to “which we expected to be…” in your cited quote from David’s post.
Can we pleeeeeeease have these in audio version? I'd offer to make you the audio's (I'm a semi-professional VO artist) but obviously I, as well as everybody else, wants to hear this in David's voice!?
Any chance this could happen?
This stunning essay requires several reads…it evokes the samsara that stirs between our thoughts, and unveils the bodhicitta that awaits …🙏
Quite wonderful to look at the end of an illusion of what one believed life should or would be and seeing the opening to hit the check box and move on. 🙏
Disappointment is one of the best teachers in this school called Life. When I look back on experiences where I have been disappointed, they have been the strongest calls to my own inner life and what needed to be examined. Thank you, David, for capturing the essence of disappointment both brilliantly and honestly.
Disappointment is when a delusion didn’t take hold of reality. Disappointment is a reaction to an expectation.