The Art of Being Sad
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Sadness, grief, and heartbreak. Three emotions that everyone will feel in their life and that everyone will hope not to. We know these feelings all too well. The refusal to get out of bed, eat, shower, or fulfill any basic human need. What many of us don’t recognize in times like this is the peace that we feel in our sadness.
Think about the feelings that lead up to an intense low — anxiety that something bad will happen, fear that your significant other is going to break up with you, or concern about what you’ll do when that family member passes. This buildup is often worse than the actual event. The buildup is what keeps us up at night and what we must power through in our work and school lives because sympathy doesn’t exist yet for feelings of anxiety.
Once the tragedy strikes, it’s like all the noise, voices, and bodily stress leave. There is, of course, an emptiness that you are left with. But the best part about the emptiness is how quiet it is. Your music taste might switch from an upbeat 1989 song to any Lizzy McAlpine ballad, bringing tranquility and thoughtfulness to a drive to Starbucks.
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It’s as if the world stops turning for a second, and it’s just you, your tears, and a quiet room. You can hear the rest of the world so clearly because all the noise in your head has just stopped. The cars were driving past, the birds were outside, and the sound of the rain hit the roof. These are all things you would never have noticed if your anxiety about what’s to come is haunting you.
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The point here is that while many people dread the sadness and grief that they can feel building up, once those feelings come, just sit with them for a while. Take the grace that people are giving you and heal with no extra stress or worries. Enjoy the quiet. I recommend finding the beauty that pain can sometimes bring.
When the anxiety is building up, just remember that even if pain does come, you will get through it, thrive in it, and learn from it. Even when it seems like there is no coming back from a devastating event, there is light on the other side of the tunnel, and often, when you search hard enough, you will find light in the tunnel. No matter how impossible this seems, there is always a way to enforce this mindset over your original way of thinking. There is always a way to push your mind to think outside of the constraints you place on yourself.
Strike Out,
Writer: Isabella Bowman
Editor: Isabel Wilder
Tallahassee