I have known disappointment in my own life. As a young man, I felt discouraged when times of disappointment came my way. It is important for me to interject that there haven't been but a few times in my life, when I was really disappointed.
There isn't a person who is exempt from this feeling. Because there is so much that happens in our lives, the time will come, for sure, when each of us encounters it 'up close and personal'.
When I was in seventh grade, I tried out for the school boy's basketball team. The try-outs for very productive. I worked really hard throughout the duration. The coach's commented on my 'hustling' play. You have to understand that from a coach's stand point, I was very small. I worked hard, on the first day. It came time for 'cuts'. A few players were dismissed. It was clear why those players were no longer invited to participate--they lacked the ability to work hard. I made the first day of 'cuts'. The second day was more regimented and various plays were practiced. I knew very little about the plays they practiced but I felt like my ability to work hard made up for my lack of knowledge. The end of the try-out came and we all knew that a few last players would be dismissed, trimming the squad down to the final team. The first name was called out and then the second. I was relieved that I was still sitting. I looked around at the remaining boys and figured that the last boy to go came down to me and one other boy. Time seemed to stand still as the head coach looked at his sheet clamped to the clipboard that he held in his hand. "Derek Fish." The two most undesired words in the English language, at that very moment, penetrated deep into my ears. I hesitated, momentarily, hoping that time would rewind and another name would be called out. That didn't happen and Coach Tornell gave me the dismissed look that he had given to the other boys. I had worked my hardest and the disappointment felt more like anger. I left the gymnasium with a gut-ache.
The story of not making the Junior High basketball team is not the emphasis of this writing. I allowed my disappointment to penetrate so deeply, that I didn't ever try out for another basketball team in Junior High or High School. What a shame that was for me to have allowed one experience, that didn't go my way, to interfere with the potential of trying again and eventually making a team.
The lesson is clear. Disappoint does not discriminate. It comes to all people. It will continue to come in our lives. It's up to each of us to learn from and then "try, try again."
