Sorrow Prepares You for Joy
“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” – Rumi (1207 – 1273) . I’ve been reading Rumi for years and had never come across this quote. It’s beautiful and so very true. I have a different friend who has been going through a sorrow filled time – grieving the death of a very close friend. I hope Rumi’s very wise and beautiful words help her as she journeys to the other side of grief and ultimately to joy.
“To live many lives, you have to die many deaths” – this sounds like it originated in Eastern thought – not sure where I first heard it. This could be talking about reincarnation. To me it is talking about “dying” to our old selves as we learn and mature. I have died to being a small child, a teenager, to being a young mother of small children, to being a business woman – as my life has unfolded, it has been important for me to be reborn into new aspects or phases of life.
At each “death” I felt great sorrow – grieving what had been and was no more. At times I still yearn to hold my young babies again – both grown adults now. I still hold them – just in a different way – honoring them as adults walking their own path. I know many women who continue to relate to their grown children as if they were babies – they attempt to control them or put them on a guilt trip for not doing as “Mom” says. You see, learning to die is very important.
The cells in our bodies that refuse to die are called cancer.
Remember: “Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”
As you walk along your own hero or heroine’s journey, take time to consciously feel sorrow for what is dying or has died in your life. What’s new, what’s next? You’ll never know until you let go of the “rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.” Always remembering “sorrow prepares you for joy.”
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
ReplyDeleteLao Tzu
ReplyDeleteLive in Joy
Live in Joy, In love,
Even among those who hate.
Live in joy, In health,
Even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, In peace,
Even among the troubled.
Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.
~
There is no fire like greed,
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger of heart,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Health, contentment and trust
Are your greatest possessions,
And freedom your greatest joy.
Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.
from the Dhammapada, Words of the Buddha
“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
ReplyDeleteSome of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.”
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
ReplyDeleteFind a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
Joseph Campbell
One for sorrow, two for joy
ReplyDelete06/05/20130 Comments
Magpie - Ability to see the future, or to alter it's course. Others may not trust you - a reputation that may be partly deserved.
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret
Never to be told
This rhyme about the Magpie is familiar to many. Perhaps a remnant of a very ancient lore of using birds to predict the future.
The Magpie may indicate seeing the future or altering it in an entirely "normal" way, as well as to deeper powers. Sometimes what is going to happen is just obvious, and sometimes we can do something about it. Because they are often seen in groups, the number of Magpies you see may be significant. However, if you only see one, there is a remedy. You must say something like "Good morning, Mr Magpie. I hope you are well, and that your wife is also in good health." This is supposed to dispel the bad luck. (However, I can tell you that I've seen every number of magpie, many times, and still haven't had any children!) So, you see that the magpie is associated with prediction, and also with being able to change what is going to happen. Isn't it interesting, too, that the thing which is required or us here is a kind word! "Seeing the future," is the reason many people turn to divination. Obviously, I believe it is a useful tool, but I strongly believe in our ability to alter the course of the future, also! Sometimes, having a better attitude to those we meet is a good place to start.
The Thieving Magpie by Dan Grzeca
The question of mistrust should not be taken as a value judgement. The Magpie is disliked because it eats the eggs and young of other birds. However, it would be a mistake to say that it is doing "wrong". This is the "right" behaviour for a magpie, who is doing exactly what it should be doing - behaving like a magpie! The other birds will not be happy about it, though! Sometimes, just being ourselves upsets people, and they have their right to avoid us, just as we have a right to express our nature. At the same time, being humans with a wide variety of options, we might like to consider whether we can be less hurtful in the process. Those who love songbirds are now concerned about the encroachment of Magpies into their garden. While their concern is legitimate, it has never seemed to me that it is the Magpies themselves who are out of balance. They are still just following their nature. It is the situation in which they find themselves which has altered. Ultimately, the card isn't about what the Magpie does, but how it is perceived by others.