Great beauty and great sadness coexist when I look into the eyes of the creatures of life, including the people I love. Sometimes I bypass, or miss seeing their beauty and joy. Sometimes that bypassing is caused by my focus on myself. At other times the immense sadness I often feel about what is happening to the creatures of the world obscures my awareness of living in the present moment, of staying grounded in life.
Reminding myself to look at the beauty, to feel joy and wonder about the creatures of life helps. I don’t want to be a victim of sadness, or to be paralyzed by it. I don’t want to deny the sadness and grief either. So how do I live with these often conflicting emotions?