Maria Duval on Sadness

Maria Duval explains that sadness is the emotional relaxation or release that occurs when your expectations and wishes are not fulfilled. The tension of expectation and intention melt like snow in the sun. Sadness hurts because it implies letting go of something you are attached to and a sense of loss that you have to live with.

We all know the outward signs of sadness: a dejected expression or "long" face, a hunched back, slumped shoulders, arms hanging by the sides, feet dragging along the ground and poor diction. It is as if the person's entire body is "fading".

We obviously combat sadness with all our might because we want to be happy. And we conclude that to be happy we have to avoid sadness. In fact, it is quite the opposite; it is only by accepting the inevitability of sadness that we can achieve true happiness. For sadness is the healthy way to react to the inevitable disappointments of life.

Hence Maria Duval says that sadness therefore brings you into contact with the most vulnerable part of yourself. It is an energy of release, like a storm that breaks the tension and clears the air. It is beneficial emotion which is essentially to enable your being to remain fluid and able to respond to the changes that occur in life.

So it is important to realise that it is never desirable to repress your real wishes and aspirations simply to avoid the suffering that occurs if they are not fulfilled. By avoiding sadness, you only experience a superficial happiness and lead the kind of "mechanical" life that sometimes conceals a subjacent depression.

Lastly, Maria Duval thinks that when life disappoints you and denies your dearest wishes, sadness is an appropriate response since its purifying energy releases the rest of your emotions. And when you learn to express your sadness, you will find that JOY will make a grand appearance in your life!