Vignettes
Sadness overcame Ruth
(This occurred a number of years ago.)
As I sometimes do, I met my walking friend midway along the path and we walked back to her apartment. She showered, I made myself a little breakfast and protein drink and sat on her fold out chair and relaxed amid comfortable surroundings. Ruth sat nearby on the couch and blurted out “you know I’ve been in this apartment for 3 1/2 years.” (She had moved from Oceanside, Long Island to Florida permanently after her husband died.) I was looking at the papers. Things were quiet. Suddenly Ruth sat up and said she had just been crying. She said she felt sad. I asked her if it was anything in particular. She answered, “No, just sadness overcame me.”
Sometimes life is sad. We move, people pass, things become no more. Sadness is awareness of time passing. It’s not necessarily bad though. We shouldn’t run from these feelings or cover them up with busyness. Sadness can connect us with the bigger picture. Somehow the more we can encompass in our being, without falling apart, the richer and deeper we become. Being sad can be a brave thing.