Being With Sadness

26th May 2011 | Comments Off on Being with Sadness Being with Sadness I went house yesterday to visit my old Grandfather, ninety two, who now lives in a home, a lot to his disgust. He was grumpy because he felt he’d been locked in there against his will. He was surrounded by old ladies, a lot of them even grumpier, so we went exterior for a cup of tea. It was cold exterior and windy. For some purpose, we got onto speaking concerning the gloomiest of topics. We both felt low. We talked about how he missed his daughter, Rowena, who died earlier than I was born. It felt uncomfortable and sad. It was unhappy. I felt like crying. Some years ago I would have taken this discomfort as a sign to run away. I could have cracked a joke, or left a bit earlier, or hurriedly modified topics. But this time I sighed and stopped and simply sat there. In the middle of the day, sitting with my Grandfather, sharing time, sharing life, a perfect second. I gave up the wrestle, and shared what was. Before you understand what kindness actually is you have to lose issues, really feel the long run dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and punctiliously saved, all this must go so you realize how desolate the landscape may be between the areas of kindness. Before you realize kindness as the deepest factor inside, you have to know sorrow as the other deepest factor. You must get up with sorrow. You should converse to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and also you see the scale of the fabric. Naomi Shahib Nye, “Kindness” Career Change, Getting Unstuck coaching Tags: Compassion and careers, Dealing with troublesome thoughts and feelings, Flexible considering: utilizing ACT in career change « Ken Robinson and The Element (... Career Coaching from The Beatl... » Check your inbox or spam folder now to confirm your subscription.