The Tao of Sorrow


The house is quiet. June is sultry so far, with afternoon and evening storms. After a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea, I go back to bed. Drifting in and out of silence, thoughts arise. They are insignificant and I have no need to hold onto them.

Montreal will be having celebrations of Leonard Cohen, their hometown boy that made good. I think of him often and fall asleep listening to his music. He seemed to care about life with every atom that he had. He was a meticulous man, driven by fires the average man does not have to contend with. Genius is like that.

He was born to love and be loved, a gift from the gods of poetry and music. It could not have been an easy life for him, yet he bore it graciously. He was healthy most of his life and had a strong core, as he said.

We all need people to inspire us. Vernon Howard inspired me as the tough teacher of truth that he was. Leonard continues to inspire me and Theo Paredes is an example of peace for me. I am blessed to have a continued interest in universal laws. Nothing happens to us by chance or accident. It is all ordained.

Sorrow leads us inward to our true nature. It does not lie to us like the world does. The world urges us to be made happy by its baubles. Sorrow would have no part in that. I have gleaned much knowledge from being drowned in sorrow. It has quenched my thirst for love and given me more than I can handle. I am helpless in its thrall. Not surprisingly, sorrow touches the heart like joy never can.

Sorrow has taught me self-kindness. As I have tried to throw off its yoke, it has somehow cleansed me in its clutches. Sorrow softens the edges of my hostility and is capable of producing deep rest. My friend Peter discovered this after he was disabled by strokes that left his brain injured. He had to rely on his heart.

So life is quiet for me these days. I relish empty days on the calendar. The tao carries me on its capable back. I ride along, not knowing what I have done or not done to deserve its grace. I rest because I am incapable of going any further on my own.

Vicki Woodyard

5 Comments

  1. I love this post so much, Vicki. You seem in a very good place right now and even though was the biggest part of it was brought by sorrow, I love that you are now having quiet time and times of deep gratitude.

    Reply

  2. This arrived in my email today and I’ve read it over a couple of times. There are so many spare sentences here that have such enormous spaces in them that I am getting lost in them. “Sorrow leads us inward to our true nature. It does not lie to us like the world does.”…”Not surprisingly, sorrow touches the heart like joy never can.” … “Sorrow softens the edges of my hostility and is capable of producing deep rest.”

    There is so much more to be said and felt in this space. It seems like much of the self help and pop psych world, and the people who fund it with their dollars and eyeballs, want to avoid feeling sorrow and grief, or to make it go away faster if it comes calling. Surrendering to it…wow, my ego does not want to go there.

    Reply

  3. We have to turn away from the pop psych that proliferates like crazy. If I try to feel happy while in my sorrow, I am just dividing myself. But if I sit and acknowledge the sorrow, I am in my truth. And when I am in my truth, I am in my love.

    Reply

Comments welcomed....