November 30, 2025
Give me the light years, but I want the dark ones too…So keep the Novocain out of my wisdom teeth, wanna feel it all
Salt, then sour, then sweet
Sara Bareillis
A couple years ago while I was in the absolute nadir of life, a friend shared this article with me: In Defense of the Psychologically Rich Life. The relevant snippet is as follows:
“The psychologically rich life is full of complex mental engagement; a wide range of intense and deep emotions; and diverse, novel, surprising and interesting experiences. Sometimes the experiences are pleasant, sometimes they are meaningful, and sometimes they are neither pleasant nor meaningful. They are rarely boring or monotonous, however.”
It was perhaps her way of assuaging my feelings at the time, that in fact my life was great because of how down I was. And as a result, it was meaningful. I may have thought it was cope back then, but now I know it to be truth. Life would be boring and devoid without the episodes of sadness, despair, anger, frustration, and on and on.
Unpleasant feelings are no longer unwelcome here. I now see those feelings as gifts, as signs that something better is emerging, if only I could take a deep breath and remind myself, that this too shall pass. Better days are ahead. A richer life, indeed.