Prompt 36: April 1, 2024
The Prompt:
Happiness is fleeting. Everyone faces disappointment. It comes in all flavors, can be caused or uncaused, and often leaves us discouraged to hope again. But the most hopeful thing secretly lies within disappointment, that is, that this world was never enough.
Context:
This topic of disappointment has sat with me for several months since I heard Jonathan Pageau’s talk on a quest for a spiritual home. His ironic point being that God is the only place we can truly find hope. Everything else in the world is bound to disappoint: our careers, retirement, romance, family, friends, and even church. Though this is an easy jumping off point for cynics, there’s actually peace in accepting the disappointment of these good things. Wendell Berry elegantly describes this peace in Hannah Coulter as her love purifies for her grandson and her community toward the end of her life:
I know by now that the love of ghosts is not expectant, and I am coming to that. This Virgie of Mine, this newfound “Virge”, is the last care of my life, and I know the ignorance I must cherish him in. I must care for him as I care for a wildflower or a singing bird, no terms, no expectations, as finally I care for Port William and the ones who have been here with me. I want to leave here open handed, with only the ancient blessing,“Good-bye.
My love to you all.”