Sweet Emotion

I've been having a really great week so far, and I was just mentioning so on Twitter when I found that I couldn't complete the tweet:

"This week has been awesome, despite some sad moments. Allthetime happy is not required for awesomeness. Sad can be just as...something."

Ignoring the made-up word "allthetime" (that is how I said it), I struggled with how to describe the fact that my week wasn't less rewarding because of the sad moments. I'm reminded of a "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." quote. Monica is concerned that Chandler has found out she isn't as maniacally organizational as she lets on. Paraphrasing, "Aw, Monica, I don't love you because of those things, I love you in spite of them."

But that's exactly backwards. I haven't had a good week in spite of the sad times, but in part because of them. Not to belittle the sadder parts, or to minimize their emotional impact, but the closeness, the emotional connection, and the...(for lack of a better word) realness added to the overall...quality of my week.

Words are failing me here, because I'm not happy about the sad things. In fact, I'm sad about them. Profound, I know. Sad things make me sad.

What I'm trying to get across is that sadness (pain, suffering, etc.) can not be seen simply as an evil to be tolerated until we can experience the happiness and joy of the world, but as an end in itself. (Just as Robert Smith) This is of course not to say that we should seek out sad things, or revel in sad situations, but that we should not curse the bad times in life when we experience them or look back.

This is of course easier said than done.

"Grief and sadness knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger than common joys." - Alphonse de Lamartine

Yeah, what he said.

Music: The Avett Brothers - "Laundry Room"