What do you do when you feel sad? Me, I usually crawl to my nest and bury myself in books or magazines. If that doesn’t work, I would just lie down and give in to tears. But surely and more often than not, I welcome a little sadness in my life. It’s the only way I can truly appreciate the many good things and happiness this life of mine has to offer.

After sadness comes happiness, in most cases. If you go beyond that, that’s already depression. And I think you need to consult a therapist for that one already. But minor sadness is ok. I just read somewhere that in the US where almost every American has a psychiatrist, popping pills is the “in” thing. When they feel blue, they go to their therapist and ask for anti-depressant pill. I can’t imagine even doing that. I wouldn’t even wonder if one day there would be medicine for every feeling or disposition we want to combat. Feeling fat, take this…feeling ugly, take this…feeling a little jolly, take this…

Whatever happened to emotional support from family, spouse or friends? I’d like to believe that each person has at least one person to depend on in times of need. I really would like to believe in that. Otherwise, we can expect a huge sale in alcohol and drugs in the years to come. When I’m feeling a little down, my friends encourages me to go out and do something fun. They would often invite me to go out to have lunch or go shopping. They really mean well. I sometimes do as they say. I sometimes don’t.

By the way, my youngest is autistic. She doesn’t have all the manifestations of autism but has a great deal of difficulty in speech. She’s turning four this year and she still can’t construct a sentence that makes sense. That’s what makes me sad these days. But I always look forward to hearing her say new words. It gives me so much joy when she recognizes numbers and letters of her name or when she repeats the words I teach her. It’s a constant battle but a battle worth all my time and effort just for the simple reason that it’s for my child.

Anyway, give in to a little sadness once in awhile instead of taking a pill. Sadness is normal.