Sorrow, the opposite of Joy. What are the things, situations which give you joy ? Logically, does it happen that the opposite of a happy situation, or event, leave you distressed ? For example, one word for your state of mind when you succeed in an examination. Cheerful. One word for not achieving the desired result in the same examination. Dejected. What do we observe here ?
As Kahlil Gibran said in his poem ‘On Joy and Sorrow’:
“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.”
Another excerpt says:
“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.”
We can infer from these lines that joy and sorrow are explicitly correlated. One cannot exist without the other. When there is joy, enjoy it, because remember that there too exists sorrow. And when there is sorrow, remember that joy too awaits in the pipeline.
As I had said for anger, same I say for sorrow : It is not a negative emotion, it is a normal emotion which has its reasons and also certain benefits.
Benefits ? Can there be any ? Well, here I will state one. When sorrowful, be sorrowful. It will be painful. You would wish to get out of a state of mind, for which there is no escape. This condition will leave a permanent imprint on your mind. It would motivate you to never repeat the mistake you committed, because, of course, no one would like to find themselves again in such a situation (do share in the comments of what could be the other benefits of sorrow).
But, this emotion, sorrow, grief, despair or whatever we may call it, is very deep and sometimes may be extremely severe. At times, unlike the small bouts of gloom which come and go, it can get difficult to overcome the depressing feeling. There can be reasons which lend us grief beyond words. We may land into situations where joy goes out of question. In these times, we need to realize that we are strong enough to overcome the toughest of battles. And no matter how dark the night may be, the sun always rises when it’s dawn.