When you are delighted with anything, be delighted as with a thing which is not one of those which cannot be taken away, but as something of such a kind, as an earthen pot is, or a glass cup, that, when it has been broken, you may remember what it was and may not be troubled… What you love is nothing of your own: it has been given to you for the present, not that it should not be taken from you, nor has it been given to you for all time, but as a fig is given to you or a bunch of grapes at the appointed season of the year. But if you wish for these things in winter, you are a fool. So if you wish for your son or friend when it is not allowed to you, you must know that you are wishing for a fig in winter.

You have had to lower expectations about your plans for the future and are currently mired in negative feelings. You have been rejected or denied something you counted on and must deal with a feeling of dejection and loss. 

The challenge is to figure out how to move past despair onto a new path. Or, if possible, figure out how to continue on as you were going, moving out of the shadow of melancholy by adjusting your aim to an attainable goal for the present where before you might have been overconfident or perfection oriented.

If you are living your life fully you are bound to be looking for the positive aspects in possible future events. This may lead to moments when the future becomes a present that isn’t what you expect it to be. This sometimes comes about too suddenly to adjust emotionally to the new situation and to a feeling of loss that requires a period of adjustment. Do not allow one such event to cloud the positive parts of your life that are still present. Sometimes the change is not as negative as it is just unfamiliar and unexpected, if looked at creatively. Sometimes you just have to move through the roughness to get back to the smooth.

You must gather up all your frustration, love, and hope, and pull yourself out of well. For the way out disappointment is not attainment goals, it is being mindful and aware that where you are is where you must begin.