Sacred Sadness 3/28/09

Life is like an onion: we peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes we weep.

Carl Sanburg
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Be my guest.
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The older we get, the more of those onion skins we have peeled off, the closer we have gotten to the juicier parts and hence the more likely we are to weep. We weep for many reasons; for loss, for regrets, for things we have forgotten or tried to forget, failed love affairs, the ingratitude of children, friend's betrayals dashed hopes, the loss of faith, all sorts of things that didn't work out in life, for injustices, insults, slanders, lies, thefts, cruelties, shame, fears, missed opportunities, doubts, depression, confusion and a feeling of having lived not enough.

There are other reasons to weep, good ones. We may weep when suddenly coming upon something indescribably beautiful, the unexpected kindness of someone, a vigorous expression of approval for who we are, the recovery of a treasure we thought we had lost, a reminder of past happiness and goodness, the surge in our hearts for the love of someone, a baby's smile, an old familiar song.

Tears are the mind's rain storm that washes the ground and makes it sparkle so that new experiences are allowed to grow in it. You are not less of a man nor too much of a woman if you weep. The hot fires of overwhelming feelings will seek the dousing of tears. The epitome of devotion is found in the weeping of joy and sacrifice. As Washington Irving wrote "There is a sacredness in tears."

Fear not the onion.

DB - The Vagabond
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May you win more than just the lottery.