Michael Carroll, a Buddhist meditation teacher who had a 32-year career on Wall Street, holds sadness and joy closely together as "poignant territory where we recognize our experience as profoundly rich" in this excerpt from Fearless at Work.
Carolyn Hobbs, a therapist and workshop leader, suggests in this excerpt from Joy, No Matter What that by welcoming sadness, we can become more completely connected with our inner self, a pathway to joy.
Naomi Shihab Nye, a poet and songwriter, lyrically describes in this excerpt from Roger Housden's book Ten Poems to Set You Free the difficulty of greeting joy when we have grown accustomed to sadness as "something to rub against."
Bradford Keeney, a creative therapist and healer, explains in this excerpt from Shamanic Christianity that the way out of sadness is "through getting further in, playing, and setting the stage for transformation."
Joseph M. Marshall, III, a Lakota storyteller and Native Studies curriculum developer, shares wisdom in this excerpt from Keep Going about the reality "that life is a journey sometimes walked in light and sometimes walked in shadow."
Henri J.M. Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest and theologian, challenges us in this excerpt from The Dance of Life to live with sadness when it arises but not to give up on seeing the small wonders that abide "in the hidden corners of the world."
Marianne Williamson, a politician and #1 New York Times bestselling author, reminds us in this excerpt from Everyday Grace that "feeling our sadness and fear is ... essential if we are to become the spiritual activists who can re-create the world."
