The Tao of Joy and Sorrow
The Tao of Joy and Sorrow is an exploration of how two companions—Joy and Sorrow—intertwine in our lives. This journey is both a personal tool and a quiet invitation: a way to Train for Joy, and to find the courage to Navigate through Sorrow.
The Sufi poet Kahlil Gibran wrote an essay titled Of Joy and Sorrow that has long been a touchstone for me. In it, he reminds us that our capacity for joy is carved by our experience of sorrow. His words invite reflection—and balance. My quest is to better understand this interplay. Perhaps yours is, too.
The Tao of Joy and Sorrow
Touch the Trailhead
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Years later, while hiking back down from Cathedral Lake with my husband ahead of me, a woman climbing up asked me, breathless: “Is it worth it?” I smiled and nodded, but I didn’t explain because it is not about the lake, which is breath-taking, It is about showing up. Meeting the incline. Noticing the birdsong, the breeze, the meadows in bloom. It’s the soul satisfaction of showing up.