Finite Disappointment And Infinite Hope: Fostering Fortitude For Fulfilling Futures

Dr. King said, “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” Disappointment is the melancholy felt when hopes go unfulfilled. Hope is the belief that something wonderful is going to happen.

When I first read Dr. King’s words I questioned them. I read them wrong. I took them to mean we should accept that some of our effort would be futile with the notion that futility in one place will be balanced by realization and triumph in another. I thought he was saying that some roads end, but that it’s ok because others begin.

I wasn’t satisfied with that notion. I turned to the ongoing Cultures of Thinking work that my school community is engaged in and I asked myself the simple question we ask our students when we want them to dig deeper. Regarding my reading of Dr. King’s words I aked, “Self, what makes you say that?” I didn’t actually ask it, and rest assured, I don’t call myself “self,” but you get my point. The answer brought me to this reflection.

Dr. King lived a journey whose end he wouldn’t see. He knew that. He spoke about that. He accepted that. Talk about a solid constitution. Talk about bravery. Talk about hope. Talk about the quintessential role model for forward progress.

Disappointment to Dr. King didn’t indicate a stopping point. He knew that the road to his hope was long, mostly unpaved, riddled with overgrowth and treacherous terrain, and interminable. His hope was never a thing with an end. It was always infinite. From its conception, Dr. King’s hope was indented to outlive Dr. King. Even if the day came when the content of a man’s character overtook the color of his skin in the eyes of his contemporaries, Dr. King’s hope called for further wonderful developments in the human condition. It still does.

The disappointments along this path were not failures in the traditional sense. They were not roadblocks. They were simply the feelings associated with being embroiled in an intense struggle. Feeling…not things. Again, in asking myself to consider Dr. King’s words with increased depth I’ve come to the realization that the word disappointment is not what I thought it was. Forty-one years and I’m still learning the language. I once believed that disappointment was synonymous with non-achievement. Now I understand that disappointment is the feeling one gets at points along the path when progress seems stifled. It stings, but it doesn’t have to deter. Ironically, I now know that those points actually represent some of the richest and most rewarding progress propellants.

Through his words Dr. King reminds me to feel and to rely on my feelings for learning and growth. He reminds me that the frustration of knowing that a truth has yet to unfold is but a motivator for enhanced efforts, deeper listening, intensified learning, broader and more genuine collaborative partnerships, and a tighter grip on hope for that truth’s fulfillment.

As a father and an educator this message is as poignant and they come. The children I serve are enmeshed in the most intense and challenging struggle of their lives…growing up. It’s my job to help them understanding and appreciate the often confusing emotions that push them along their paths, to accept that the twists and turns aren’t barricades to limitless possibilities but riddles to be solved, and to know that hope isn’t a impractical wish but an concrete reality that unfolds over time.

Thank you Dr. King.

Live. Learn. Lead.

Dream Big. Work Hard. Be Well.