Joy And Sorrow

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

This is from the book The Prophet, written by Kahlil Gibran. Its filled with 26 poetic essays, basically about all different aspects of life. I find it interesting mostly because I can relate to it, well any human could relate to it, and it was written in 1923. I find it intriguing how something that was true in the 20's is still true in 2010. I love this section about sorrow and joy because it really makes you think. I love the idea that anything that will make you sorrowful will have once made you joyful. I love the line, "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." The idea that something that caused you so much pain, so much grief.. is simply going to let you hold so much passion and joy in the future. If you can hold on to something so agonizing you can as easily hold on to something that makes you content.