“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” ~ Kahil Gabran
In one of the early chapters of my book, Where the Light Enters, I reference this quote by Kahil Gabran and found it to be even more poignant now than it was when I first decided to use it. My friend, Rachel, recently posted about the joy of sorrow and its ability to show us the depth of our emotions. Gabran’s quote gets at the same idea.
When we’re hurting all we want to do is stop hurting. We just want it to go away. Instead, what if we could find a way to be just as grateful for sorrow as we are for joy? Sorrow means that we were deeply affected, that we opened ourselves to possibility. We let ourselves be vulnerable. And that doesn’t make us sad or pathetic or weak. It makes us strong and brave and courageous.
It’s okay to care for our wounds, to be really good to ourselves in an effort toward healing so that we can again be open. It takes time but don’t spend it regretting your decision to be open and wishing away sorrow. Welcome it in. Sit with it. Learn from it. It’s got so much to teach us.
Christa Avampato 