One learns to get along with their sadness and also learns to recognize it in others. Growing up is recognizing the sadness that hides behind a face.Sadness learns to settle in our lives and is even an element of social interaction: there are relationships based on sharing sadness without knowing it, in a faithful complicity with it.
That self-awareness, awareness of others, and awareness of our place in the world, which is nothing more than acquiring knowledge, does generate sadness, a permanent nostalgia that makes us doubt and question ourselves every day.
I have seen a very strong need nowadays to be happy at all costs. On social media, all kinds of ads and propaganda filled with toxic positivity abound, and everyone seems happy, leading one to believe that this is reality and that feeling sad is wrong.
For me, sadness is an emotion like so many others that we naturally experience as humans. There’s nothing wrong with feeling sad. When I feel sadness, what I do is acknowledge the emotion as it is, without judging it, just feeling it.
Embrace all emotions
Emotions have something to convey to us about ourselves, and sadness can be a great messenger from which I can learn if I allow myself. According to my experience, sincere and close friends, reading, and healthy fun are the keys to being able to return to myself and calmly observe my emotions, understanding that emotions are fleeting and sadness is one of them, and that it passes and is overcome.
I would like not to feel sad, but denying or resisting sadness won’t make it go away. Once I recognize the sadness and accept it naturally without fighting against it, the sadness completes its cycle and goes away.
On the contrary, when I start to struggle with my emotions, the burden can be heavier and more stressful. Detachment and non-attachment help to understand that stages come to an end and emotions change constantly, so I do not identify with my emotions and let them come, show me what they need to show, and follow their course.
Another thing that helps me when I feel sad is to stay calm. From my point of view, sadness is not a bad feeling, so I usually don’t avoid it; instead, I give it my attention to understand what is happening to me and what it wants to teach me this time.
Go ahead and cry
Trying to avoid or escape sadness, I believe, is a counterproductive path because repressing emotions can end up affecting us physically and mentally.So if in my process of sadness I need to cry, I do it because it helps me feel more relieved and calm.
