Rethinking Sadness

It is natural to feel sad. It is natural to feel depressed and lonely. Unfortunately society teaches us that we should always feel happy, we should strive for everything that makes us feel happy, and there is something wrong with us if we feel sad or depressed. Just turn on the tv and you are bombarded with messages saying, "Do you feel stressed out? Do you feel anxious? Do you feel sad? If you do, then you should take this medication!" My answer to these questions is always, "yes, I am human!" It is human to feel these feelings. A problem may arise if the feelings of sadness and depression are continual and severe. But many of us do not need medication for what we are feeling.

The feeling and experience of sadness is a gift. Our sadness is often telling us something important! Our sadness reminds us that we are fragile. That we suffer. That we are deeply affected by people and our environment. That we have needs. That we still have work to do in our lives and in the world. Experiencing sadness also helps us be compassionate to others' sadness and grief.

Allow yourself to feel sad and depressed. You don't always have to distract yourself from it. There is a great amount of learning in that sadness. Explore it. Explore your feelings and the cause. Often it can motivate us to make necessary changes in our life. It can motivate us to take action if we are sad about something we see in the world. Other times we need to just allow ourselves to feel sad and not do anything. Everyday doesn't have to be productive. Maybe we need a day to just feel sad. And, at other times, it is good to engage in activity that feeds our soul and lifts our spirit. If you explore your feelings, and listen to your inner guidance, you will know what you need in the moment. But allow yourself to feel, to express your emotions (yes that means crying!), to explore and understand the feelings, to do nothing, and/or do something to help nurture your soul.

We need more people in this world who are in touch with their emotions-ALL of their emotions. If we are in touch with our emotions, we can make better decisions in our lives. We can be more authentic to who we are and live healthier lives. Being in touch with our emotions also allows us to better support others. We can better relate to and empathize with them.
Let's start valuing the so-called "negative" emotions such as sadness and depression and see the "positive" things they have to offer us.