Navigating Sadness: The Healing Power of Staying Open

There’s a profound sadness I’ve been carrying lately—a bittersweet sorrow for the timeline we seem to be leaving behind. It’s not the kind of sadness that spirals into despair, but a tender ache—a recognition of the change and growth unfolding both within me and in the world around me.

Sadness has a way of softening the heart if we allow it, guiding us toward a deeper understanding of ourselves and the connections we hold. It’s a teacher that often speaks through stillness, urging us to feel rather than react, to lean in rather than shut down.

Last night, I had an exchange with someone I consider a very dear friend for nearly 30 years. Though our connection has mostly been sustained through the threads of Facebook for the past 15 years, that shared history is something I cherish so deeply. Their response to a difficult topic stirred something in me—not the anger that might have risen in the past, but a profound sadness.

Sadness for how fear has made so many of us vulnerable to manipulation. Sadness for how division has become a tool used by those who benefit from our inability to see the bigger picture. And sadness for how easily we can fall into the illusion that politics, ideologies, or beliefs are simply a sport game, where one side wins and the other loses—while the fabric of our humanity frays in the process.

But this time, I didn’t retreat. I didn’t respond with frustration or disengage in hurt. Instead, I stayed open. I chose compassion as my guide, hoping to plant a seed that might one day bloom. Not because I expect immediate change—sometimes, the heart needs time to heal, to restore so it can listen—but because I believe in the quiet, transformative power of human connection.

Connection that reminds us we are more than the narratives we cling to. Connection that speaks to our shared humanity in a way that anger or dismissal never could.

In that moment, I realized something deeply profound: choosing to stay open wasn’t just about trying to reach someone else—it was an act of healing for myself. Every time I resist the urge to shut down, to pull away, or to harden my heart, I’m breaking patterns that no longer serve me. I’m stepping into a more expansive version of myself, one that can hold both sadness and compassion at the same time.

One that can grieve for what’s being left behind while also embracing the flow of what’s emerging.

This process hasn’t been easy. The sadness is real, ever consuming, heavy at times, and deeply personal. But I’ve found solace in practices that connect me back to my center. Heart coherence exercises have become my anchor—a way to breathe through the storm, to remind myself that even amidst turbulence, I can hold space for myself and others without losing my footing.

Through this journey, I’ve come to understand that sadness isn’t something to fear. It isn’t something to run from or bury. It’s a quiet, powerful reflection of the love and care we hold for the world and the people in it. It’s proof that we’re alive, that we’re connected, that we feel.

And perhaps most importantly, sadness has the power to soften us. To break open the barriers we build to protect ourselves and make room for something deeper, something truer.

As I navigate this path, I hold onto the hope that my own healing can ripple outward. That by choosing compassion, by staying open, I can inspire others to do the same. And that maybe—just maybe—the seeds of understanding we plant today, no matter how small, will one day help bridge the divide and create a more unified, compassionate world.

To those who feel this same sadness, who grieve for the timeline we are leaving behind, for the disconnection we see all around us: you are not alone.

Let this sadness soften your heart. Let it guide you inward, to the light that lives within you. Because when we heal ourselves, we begin to heal the collective. And when we stay open, we make space for the world to transform, one heart at a time.

Let’s keep flowing together and rally behind "Bringing Humanity Back to Being"