I have been through periods of great sorrow and been crippled with doubt and depression.
Out of desperation I ran from my sadness and hit the bottom of the sea of my own consciousness. But there is wisdom in sadness, truth in sorrow—cheerfulness is lovely, like a spring blossom, but winter brings its own revelation.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from the practice of yoga, it’s to not run from pain. Our pain is our greatest teacher. The cracks in the cheerfulness filter set on our life are actually our greatest asset. Sorrow brings earnestness, longing, justice, and compassion. Doubt can lead us to humility, true self-confidence, and even a return to innocence.
There is beauty and grace in sadness.
Like the elegance of rain, periods of apparent suffering are often important times of growth, resetting the inner clock to a time zone closer to your spiritual home.
If you are suffering right now, don’t run and don’t give up. Instead, dig in, dive deep and just experience it. Get comfortable with it. Make friends with your tears and let them be your teacher. Let the search for meaning guide you to a new spiritual lesson and see the truth revealed through your trials and tribulations–it’s there, hiding in the fragility of a raindrop and in the perfection of a snowflake, the hidden meaning of it all, so simple and yet totally complex, perfectly whole and yet glimmering in a thousand little pieces of love.
Three practical tips on how to deal with sorrow:
1. Sit with it and don’t fight it. Just observe. Make peace with what you feel. You can try meditating—it’s a great tool for learning to sit with whatever emotions arise.
2. Ask for guidance. Consult a mentor, friend, therapist or inner counsel and with an open, humble heart ask what the lesson in your suffering is. Be willing to hear the answer and learn from it.
3. Reflect. Think back on a period of difficulty. Observe the lesson you learned and how it has shaped who you are and what you value. What changes did you make as a result of the revelations afforded to you after the period of suffering?
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Author: Kino MacGregor
Image: Agathe Padovani/I Film Yoga
Editor: Katarina Tavčar
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