Think of Sadness as Gravity—A Force Requiring No Effort—While Joy Demands We Climb, Stretch, and Reach Beyond Our Comfort Zone

The heart's gates swing open to welcome sorrow without invitation, while happiness must patiently knock, again and again.

Me in the Yukon wilderness | Photo by Stewart Burnett

Let me open a window into my personal journey. Though I appear as an eternal optimist to many—someone who radiates positivity wherever I go—the reality beneath this sunny exterior is layered and complex. Throughout much of my existence, I've walked hand-in-hand with a profound inner darkness. From ear…