I Release You

My personal reflection time revealed the fact that disappointment and injustice are two things which I respond to with anger. I'm blessed to be able to look back through my life with different eyes and see how this has played out. Not good.

Disappointment hurts. Responding to disappointment with anger leads to more hurt. I have found the power to stop repeating this destructive chain in the phrase, "I release you..."

I;m very specific about what comes after the phrase, including the person and what exactly I am releasing him/her from. I direct the phrase to me about as much as I direct it to others, as I have to release myself from so many unrealistic expectations.

The result is that I smile and laugh more. I am having more fun. Most of all, I am a lot less angry.

It may sound easy, but the difficulty is in recognizing the unrealistic and/or unspoken expectation that, when unmet, is leading to disappointment.

JOYOUS living is different from happy living. I'm not always happy, but I still have joy because I have hope.Hope is future-focused. Fewer, precious seconds of my life are lost due to my misapplied emotional responses.