March 11, 2002
The
Gifts of Sadness
“The key … is building a relationship between the shadow and the dream, between despair and optimism, between our escalating problems and our unprecedented opportunities. We often miss that our problems and opportunities may be two aspects of the same thing… We tend to call things good or bad, be optimistic or pessimistic, and avoid the fine art of creative tension, personal and organizational alchemy, using both the dark and the light to design new paths.”
from
Navigating The Future by Mikela Tarlow (1)
I often hear about how upbeat
and positive I am about life. Handing
out business cards with Awaken The Soul prominently positioned leads the
recipient to think I have discovered the keys to continual happiness and
contentment. Although I have found
happiness and contentment, I also have discovered the darker sides of emotion as
my passion for life and soul connection grow.
The spiritual path is filled
with opportunities to learn and grow from experiences. When we engage in a spiritual life we develop a heightened
sense of feelings that accompany growth. A
connection with the Divine through an awakened soul does not give us a get
out of jail free card to avoid negative feelings. Dark feelings can help us
further understand our connection if we so choose.
Perhaps one of the most vivid
images in the Christian faith that illustrates that no one is immune to such
emotions is Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane when he understands his fate.
“Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death…”
(Matthew 26.38) Not even Jesus who lived an exemplary life could escape
feeling the highs and lows of the human experience.
The Romans described a person
who was depressed or melancholy as being in Saturn. Associating the feeling with the qualities of the Roman god
Saturn who was the patron of the past, the Romans would build Saturn gardens
where they could go and reflect on days gone by. It was their belief that these times of reflection and
sadness would be followed with a new feeling of self-acceptance and
self-knowledge.
In his book Care Of The Soul,
Thomas Moore devotes an entire chapter to “Gifts of Depression”.
When describing how the soul presents itself in a variety of colors,
including all the shades of gray, blue and black, he is quick to add that these
moods have a positive meaning.
“Some feelings and thoughts
seem to emerge only in a dark mood. Suppress
the mood, and you will suppress those ideas and reflections.
Depression may be as important a channel for valuable ‘negative’
feelings, as expressions of affection are for the emotions of love.
Feelings of love give birth naturally to gestures of attachment.
In the same way, the void and grayness of depression evoke an awareness
and articulation to thoughts otherwise hidden behind the screen of lighter
moods… Melancholy gives the soul an opportunity to express a side of its
nature that is as valid as any other, but is hidden out of our distaste for its
darkness and bitterness.” (2)
Of course, there are times when
we are overwhelmed with these dark feelings and need to seek out others to help
us work through such times. But if
you experience these shades of gray in your soul and learn from the emotions
they invoke, then when you emerge it can be with a new sense of awareness and
acceptance of who you are and where you are headed.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2002; Edited by Janice E. Olson
(1)
Navigating The Future – A Personal Guide to Achieving Success in the
New Millennium by Mikela Tarlow, M.A., M. Ed.; Copyright 1999; McGraw-Hill
(2)
Care Of The Soul – A Guide For Cultivating Depth And Sacredness In
Everyday Life by Thomas Moore; Copyright 1992; HarperCollins Publishers