Disappointment can be wearing. Frustrating too. There’s no way around it. When you’re an artist and a creator (and we all are), you get knocked down a lot. It’s just part of the gig. Abe Lincoln. Rejected. Martin Luther King Jr. Mocked. Amelia Earhart. Ridiculed. Early on, these folks were billboards for disappointment. Or were they?

If we put on our God glasses and observe with a bit gentler eye, what we frequently label as disappointment and failure is often false advertising for clarity, redirection, and a heightening of Presence.

One of the many side effects of an overactive Western world is our rush of judgment in associating failure with self-worth. That it means something about us. Lose your job…Not good enough. (And my favorite, What will people say?)  Bomb the audition…Don’t have the talent. Can’t sell your house…The world is against me.

Truthfully though, what’s seen by many as a case of ineptitude or a sign to work harder and longer or a perpetual curse of “bad luck” may just be a benevolent Youniverse finalizing the details – the divine ones that is. Thus presenting all parties involved with yet another opportunity to trust and stay rooted in their glow.

Disappointment is simply the disguise that alignment occasionally wears. @tjolwig (Click to Tweet!)

That’s it. Nothing but a divine reroute masquerading as a temporary road bump. Or as my mom puts it, disappointment – “an appointment not met.” You see? Just a timing thing. Nothing but the Divine rescheduling.

So before you get your dauber down and drop your latest experience in the defeat file, I’m going to ask you to reflect on this, because maybe, just maybe, your current disappointment is but a nudge in a soul-suited direction.

Stay open and keep it light.

T.J. Olwig is the writer and creator behind the blog Keepin’ It Light, what he calls an “opportunity to live consciously.” When he’s not writing, you can find him in a coffee shop, yoga studio or on the road. Currently, he’s traveling the country with his yellow lab Gus and Betty White (that’s his car). The goal? To play fetch in all 50 states.  He calls it “Fetch in 50.” You can follow him on Twitter, IG or FB.

Image courtesy of Taylor Leopold.