Why the Sorrows?

Someone was asking me the other day why meditate on the sorrows when there’s so much to be joyful about in life.

Very true.

However, bringing the mind to bear on the sorrows helps not only to understand how sorrows work in our own lives, but also upon… who’s suffering in the world today?

Those who are sick, dying; those who just lost loved ones;

Then there are the usual genocides around the world, which include Darfur, Sri Lanka, North Korea, etc, etc, etc.

In fact, it’s an act of sheer denial to pretend there are no sorrows in life, or to continually gloss over them. So, simply understand sorrow for what it is: a part of the human condition. In understanding it more fully we are led to understand joy more fully as well, and to more simply embrace the fullness of life.

The Rev. Kenneth Allen