Heart Full of Sorrow

Sorrow is a powerful word; it embraces grief, sadness, personal pain and regret; it also carries its cause which is hopelessness. Why is it powerful? Because it can control and even destroy a human life; it is frequently is found within the cause of those who give up. We don't invite it into our lives or ever hope to know it. Its arrival, while never announced is always profound and even varied. It may be the result of the unexpected and final loss of someone you love, the slow erosion of wishes, hopes and dreams or the desire to be loved or important to someone. Whatever its cause when it arrives in our life joy is swept away like the sand carried out with the tide. Hopelessness is profound; it contains the story of washed away dreams.

There is something deeper that lies behind sorrow in our life. It is the loss of control of the outcome that causes the utter hopelessness we feel. Even a battered child who feels unloved imagines that tomorrow could be better if only they were old enough to escape. It is essential to our emotional well being to believe that we have control over the things that are important to us in life. It may well be the first step towards recovery for those whose lives have been overtaken by sorrow. The human spirit is more powerful than sorrow, more profound than hopelessness. It responds to the smallest whisper of hope. Even if dimmed to the tiniest light it never forgets that it was created to ignite the flames of hope that sustain life.

Safe houses combined with awareness and astute teachers have begun a path forward for abused children. The value of an adult who knows them extending encouragement and a way to reach them if necessary allows them to trust that they are worthy and loved.

Losing a job, home or even an opportunity to achieve something important is challenging. It leads to hopelessness when we believe we have done everything we know to do and finally give up. We feel empowered and back in control by searching for even the smallest places in our life where we can still maintain control. Creating order in our homes or any other available place restores our ability to believe we can be back in control. Once that thought pattern has been established we begin to believe in other possibilities. We attract what we believe is real.

Losing a loved one is perhaps the most final and difficult; hopelessness and helpless walk hand-in-hand. However, we can still control the end of the story and how it is written and remembered. Continuing things that were important to our loved ones, like traditions, honors who they were. Keeping their memory alive and loved continues their legacy.

Recovering from sorrow begins with regaining control in your life. Simply maintaining a garden or plants can reignite hope and begin restoring our spirit, releasing the grip of hopelessness.