Sitting With Sadness

This morning I awoke to a heavy heart. There was nothing particular on my mind. I couldn’t recall any dream content that might have left a residue of sadness. Today marks no special anniversary of loss. It wasn’t even raining! In other words, I felt inexplicably sad.

In our culture we are conditioned against sadness. We enjoy our inalienable right to pursue happiness. We fight depression and chase our blues away. So it might seem a bit strange, but my response to sadness is to welcome it like an old friend. I bring it with me to my meditation cushion and open my heart to it, the way I would open to a beloved.

I hold my sadness lightly in my heart and greet it the way I was instructed to do, many years ago, by a student of the well-known Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. “Hello, little sadness,” I begin, “Welcome to my heart. Please find comfort here and speak to me if you wish.” There are times when I actually hear the faint whisper of the sadness I’m entertaining. This morning … silence.

“Hello, little sadness. I respect your silence. Please sit with me for as long as you choose and take your leave only when you are ready. We will hold each other dear for a time and that time will pass in time and you will be gone and I will move on.”

I sat with my sadness. Time passed. Sadness took its leave. I emerged from my meditation feeling a beautiful lightness of heart. I noticed the radiant glow of the morning and stepped outside to feel an unexpected crispness to the air. I sniffed the aromas of dewy grass and coolness. I felt the warmth of the sun playing in my hair. I thanked my little sadness for its brief visit and stepped into my day with renewed gratitude for the little things that often escape my attention.

Thank you for reading. I hope you will try sitting with your sadness the next time it comes to call.

~ Namaste ~