Transforming Sadness: Life Has Not Forgotten Us, And We Must Not Forget Life.

An Existential sadness is a manifestation of negative life circumstances. We might find ourselves in a job we dislike, or missing a family member we no longer see. There may be an extended period of unemployment, or a relationship has broken down.

There are a myriad of life scenarios that can precipitate a crisis. It is worth remembering however, that sadness is different to Clinical Depression (which requires a medical assessment and care).

Where there is a deep sense of sadness, when we are inconsolable, and often not able to articulate this we might withdraw from friends and family, and work might be more difficult.

Then there is often a feeling of emotional inertia. No matter what we do to lift our spirits, it does not work. We cannot shake it off. It is overwhelming.

We may even sacrifice our own well-being, even momentarily, to help another person do well and flourish. Whether or not they are aware of it does not matter; the sadness is ours to carry alone, and that is a critical component of how we find meaning in our journey.

Meaning is at the core of who we are. Therefore sadness can only persist if our suffering has no meaning. Transformation occurs by devoting ourselves to another/others, fulfilling a meaningful task/creative endeavour, or by bearing our unavoidable suffering in a transcendent way.

Sadness is an ineluctable part of life: It will find us, sometimes unexpectedly, but it will always attempt to settle in our hearts. At that point we should not be afraid.

Yes, it can take time to work things through. However, although the answers are partly within us, our insight reaches its zenith when our inner and outer worlds unify.

This may sound vaguely esoteric, but it is not. It is practical and experiential. Positive change occurs when our values are engaged to answer the specific questions before us.

We might think that the way forward is too difficult to contemplate. But it is at our lowest point that we are closest to a breakthrough: there is deep meaning in those moments.

Life has not forgotten us, and we must not forget life. As Viktor Frankl wrote: 'each person is questioned by life; and he/she can only answer to life by answering for his/her own life; to life he/she can only respond by being responsible'.

Our purpose then, is to live in radical expectation and to appreciate the future as an opportunity to do better and to be better. Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy & Existential Analysis is a powerful tool to help us explore these issues and to make positive and purposeful changes in our lives.

#logotherapy #viktorfrankl #hope #sadness #transformation #love #change #future