Sadness - Crushing the Human Spirit

 When deep, painful sorrow enters life it changes the very landscape around us. It is an all-encompassing emotion that commands all of your attention, all the time. The natural response is to retreat within to what can soon become a human tomb with walls that grow thicker as you close out the outside world. Sadness is the result of a profound and many times life changing event. Working your way through it is much like traversing a strange darkly lit place through thick fog. Everything looks different, a little frightening and certainly strange. It is essential to escape from this place of pain lest it become a final resting place for the spirit of you. Sadness can crush the human spirit.

Where do you go, how do you escape from this strange place you have entered as you ran from what caused such pain?

It is different for everyone. The way back and the path there is determined by how far you can return to the point where the road turned, to the detour that has brought you to this place where there is no comfort. For some, it is not possible initially to return to the event. There is a natural inclination not to look at anything for very long that is still so painful. There is some point that only you can decide where you can return and work your way back on a new path. You can determine where that is by how long you can look at the origin of pain. When you find the point that is bearable, begin again. Remember the path you took to get here? You may not want to retrace the same route back, but you can find a place that is bearable and begin from that point.

Wholeness is the point you are working to reach, the place past where your emotions were crushed. Yesterday is the place where the wounds were too deep to look at or even to feel. And so you retreated to find some peace of mind.

Humans are strong and far more resilient than many imagine. The cause we are fighting for determines whether we finish with super-human strength or fall by the wayside on a journey that lost its appeal and seemed not to be worth the effort to reach the destination. Failure is not an option in this quest. You must return to the place where things unraveled and you no longer cared where the road would take you. You cannot opt out of the recovery option; the quality of your life depends on completing this journey.

It is important to recognize that your life has great value, still. Don't be afraid to let go of the pain this has caused. Many times we hold onto the pain in fear that not hurting may signal that we didn't really care or that we have forgotten. Holding on to pain is more like doing penance for something you are not responsible for. It helps no one and is harmful to your own wellbeing. You cannot change what is behind you, no matter the bitter regret. Perhaps the greatest lesson in life is accepting the only thing you ever control is your own response. No event is worth losing yourself.

Everyone arrives with a life plan filled with hope and good things. Sometimes bad things happen to good people; you may be one of them. What has happened does have a cause; one day you may understand better or realize it was for your greater good. Life changes frequently take you someplace you never intended to go and give far more value to who you will become. Take another step forward.