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Embrace sadness.
In a world where sadness is not present, happiness will not exist. Why? Because sadness serves as a comparison to happiness and gives the word 'happiness' a meaning. Therefore, I believe that sadness should not be criticized as a negative feeling, but a necessary feeling in life that will give your life meaning.
Allan Macdougall 30+
Some of the most beautiful art, poetry and music have originated from a state of sadness or melancholy.
Madiha Khayat 500+
for that is more happiness and success.. :)
Sean Brother
Fonkou Djoendia
Rosa Park 500+
Colleen Steen 500+
I agree that sadness is not a negative feeling, and it is beneficial to embrace it. When we embrace sadness in a mindful, aware state, it allows us to "feel", on many different levels, thereby learning more about ourselves, the meaning of life, the meaning of people and experiences in our life journey. It allows us to recognize many other feelings like compassion, empathy, respect, humility, gratitude, etc. To deny our "self" the opportunity to feel sadness, is like denying ourselves an important aspect of the life journey.
Linda Maker
What gives life meaning is what we give to life, and our feelings of connectedness, growth, etc. Like that quote - "It's not about how many breaths we take in our life-times that give meaning, but rather it's about the moments that take our breath away." Obviously, some of those breath-taking moments include sadness.
I agree with Barry saying that the "sadness at the loss of a loved one is a sadness that should be cherished." And of course that is different than the sadness at the loss of a television program.
I have experienced that when my heart felt cracked open by the death of a loved one, there was an almost mystical feeling of heightened awareness of the moment - a humbling silencing of my normal mental chatter happened, which gave me a feeling of looking through a new window or perspective - into those moments. And there was some sort of sense of "pregnant possibility" there, albeit kind of hazy at the time.
But maybe our minds and perception are so unaccustomed to such grief-induced open-ness that even though it is hard to comprehend and not pleasant to endure, it is nonetheless enriching.
Still, I have strong hedonistic, fun and happiness-loving tendencies, so I kick and scream and resist those profound moments - even though a part of myself craves them, or at least, craves deep meaning. I find being a human to sometimes be very confusing!
Linda Maker
I believe there is profound growth available from certain experiences of sadness, and at the same time I see the need for developing greater resilience so as not to be bogged down with so much empathy and/or personal grief to the point of becoming overwhelmed.
This has frequently happened to me and many people I know, as we are highly sensitive, empathetic and caring.
The question is: if a sensitive person has an awareness of the suffering in the world and also of life's "sacred fragility", what can we do to be empowered with resilience and effectiveness to make positive change in the world focused on alleviating suffering? This is a psychological quest for many of us, I suppose. And I think this question is the necessary follow-up to the general idea of embracing sadness.
In a non-dualistic sense, embracing sadness would be considered an obvious action of accepting and acknowledging what "is". Perhaps one answer to the question I just posed here is to truly embrace and accept sadness at such a complete level that the sadness could be transmuted. But this is just hypothetical on my part - I have not yet experienced such a total acceptance and integration. Feedback is welcome.
Colleen Steen 500+
You ask... if a sensitive person has an awareness of the suffering in the world and also of life's "sacred fragility", what can we do to be empowered with resilience and effectiveness to make positive change in the world focused on alleviating suffering?"
I suggest that we can be very aware of sadness on many different levels, and we do not need to hold onto sadness. It is a feeling/emotion that can "flow" through us, is it not?
You answer your own question in your next statement..."embracing sadness would be considered an obvious action of accepting and acknowledging what "is"."
Sadness does not exist in every moment does it? So, if we are experiencing "what is", as you say, we can be open to each and every moment with curiosity and unconditional love? Even while grieving, for example, there can be laughter and joy? Sadness is one of the many "parts" of our "self", and I believe it is important to recognize each and every "part" that is manifesting in the moment. When we are open hearted/open minded, all emotions can flow with ease...without obstruction:>)
Barry Palmer 50+
I think that sadness is considered negatively because it is too often petty.
Adriaan Braam 20+
But it is not the same as a dime next to a bug in a picture, to show the size of the bug.
Sadness and happiness are opposites as darkness and light. I do not need one to appreciate the other. We may also feel sad for a very good reason. We may have lost something or made a mistake. Then we have the option to accept the situation or do something about it, at which point we can tell ourselves to stop feeling sad and focus on something else.
Would you also regard evil as something we need, in order to know what good is?
Evil does need to come to the surface, but only so we, again, can change the thought or situation and so change ourselves. Many, if not most people don't need sadness or evil to show us the way. Just feeling less happy or see something less good, should be clear and reason enough to change whatever we can change for the better.
John Dunbar 10+
Josh S
Too much sadness is negative, that;s why it is a negative feeling. No body likes to be sad, that is why it is negative. People like to be happy, because it is a positive feeling.
It is necessary to have sadness, but only because there needs to be something to compare the beneficial feeling of happiness too.
Colleen Steen 500+
You say... "I dont think sadness gives our life meaning...Happiness gives our life meaning......No body likes to be sad, that is why it is negative. People like to be happy, because it is a positive feeling."
What if we know we can learn, grow and evolve from the feelings of sadness on many levels? Sadness, is simply sadness, and is neither "positive" or "negative" in my perception.
I KNOW the learning I experience from sadness, which I could not have learned in any other way, so I've learned to be comfortable with discomfort. I do not compare sadness with happiness because I am aware of the fact that they can exist simultaniously. We are multi-sensory, multi-dimentional beings, and can experience many different feelings at the same time...IF we are open to that possibility:>)