And that’s the part that keeps coming back to me: so much sadness is not just personal; it’s relational. It lives between us as much as it lives inside us. It grows in the gaps—gaps in attention, gaps in time, gaps in care. When people don’t feel seen, they start to believe they don’t matter. When they don’t feel rooted, they start to drift. When they don’t feel safe, they start to harden. And once enough of us harden, the world starts to feel colder, even in summer.
I woke up this morning feeling sad, rolled out of my bed with dread as my company the sleep in my eyes dimmed my view. The sun shone through the partially opened shutters slivers of light filled the room like the bars of a gilded cage, it signalled something unspoken, unheard and less thought of. I opened my eyes. My dread soon left me as I began my day, looking forward to the unknowns that the day would bring. My world isn’t perfect it’s not supposed to be. It’s full of ironies and metaphorical inconsistencies that act like moguls standing in the way of my smooth existence. I know that hope can free me, my mind can trap me, without hope there is no passage out of the darkness that tries to paint over our fragile lives. I realized, what a beautiful day it was, waiting to be lived.
I feel that sadness is very personal, and it remains personal until it finds the right outlet or the right ears to listen. When you feel that the person in front of you is truly listening and understanding the depth of your sadness, that is when I feel the sadness gets shared and divided. Otherwise, sometimes people are silenced by being told, Oh, forget about it, or Hmm, it's okay.
Then, that sadness prefers to just sit silently in a corner, and it keeps continuing this way... This is why depression, anxiety, and stress are so common these days. Your friends are very lucky that they have a good listener like you. 🙏🏽💫
Feeling this, deeply and viscerally. Was drifting in a vague sense of loss when I read this post. Thank you for recognizing this. Even if we feel sorrow, at least we can feel less alone in our sorrow.
I woke up this morning feeling sad, rolled out of my bed with dread as my company the sleep in my eyes dimmed my view. The sun shone through the partially opened shutters slivers of light filled the room like the bars of a gilded cage, it signalled something unspoken, unheard and less thought of. I opened my eyes. My dread soon left me as I began my day, looking forward to the unknowns that the day would bring. My world isn’t perfect it’s not supposed to be. It’s full of ironies and metaphorical inconsistencies that act like moguls standing in the way of my smooth existence. I know that hope can free me, my mind can trap me, without hope there is no passage out of the darkness that tries to paint over our fragile lives. I realized, what a beautiful day it was, waiting to be lived.
Well said dear Gurdeep! I enjoyed reading every word of this article! My response is a poem I wrote about holding space.
Holding space
One of the hardest things is to see someone suffer
and not being able to stop their suffering,
not being able to offer and think of solutions
and watching them hurt, suffer and sense their pain.
You may feel hopeless, devastated and useless,
because your tendencies are to be there for them and to help.
But on the end of the day it is not your journey,
not your battle and not your pain to feel. It is theirs.
You known what you can do? Be there for them,
give them your undivided attention, your listening ears,
your understanding words, your caring, loving heart
and your presence will be a blessing, and healing.
And this my dear friend is how you hold space.
Thank you my dear ones, who hold space for me!
Your presence, your kindness and your good intentions
make a big difference in my life.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
These are good words;so many of us are alienated from each other for so many reasons.The "little kindnesses" are a way to close the gap.
I am living in a challenging situation but I will not let it crush my spirit. Kindness, joy and caring for myself and others. Thank you.
Beautiful and resonant. Deep breath.
I feel that sadness is very personal, and it remains personal until it finds the right outlet or the right ears to listen. When you feel that the person in front of you is truly listening and understanding the depth of your sadness, that is when I feel the sadness gets shared and divided. Otherwise, sometimes people are silenced by being told, Oh, forget about it, or Hmm, it's okay.
Then, that sadness prefers to just sit silently in a corner, and it keeps continuing this way... This is why depression, anxiety, and stress are so common these days. Your friends are very lucky that they have a good listener like you. 🙏🏽💫
Insightful and well put, thank you. 🙏🏼 This is helpful to me.
“ Sometimes resilience looks like continuing to carry your grief because you don’t know where to set it down.”
Wow, just wow. Really hit home. ♥️
Feeling this, deeply and viscerally. Was drifting in a vague sense of loss when I read this post. Thank you for recognizing this. Even if we feel sorrow, at least we can feel less alone in our sorrow.
Oh Gurdeep.
This reached right in and grabbed hold of my heart.
Your beautiful thoughtful words have brought me to tears.
Thank for your writing and for your connection 💛