In a society that makes joy and good humor injunctions, it is difficult to live or at least to express moments of sadness. Why is it like this? Has it always been this way?
Life is made of ups and downs. The painful moments, we must hide them, they must not pass the threshold of our door. Social networks are a good example, how do you react when someone shares their pain or distress on the web? It probably makes you feel uncomfortable, you do not want to listen more to what he has to say, often we prefer to look away in such a situation.
Sadness, since it is an emotion that is most often experienced alone, does not really have a place in the public space. This rule does not apply when sadness can be used to consolidate a group or federate a nation (attacks, wars, etc.), i.e. its social function is self-evident.
Sadness is necessary because it is an emotion that makes us particularly human.
What floods the web is excitement, enjoyment, gluttony sometimes and festivity most often. These emotions are pleasant, they are even a little degrading then we enjoy being the spectator of the human baseness. This voyeurism is a powerful lever of attractiveness of the digital onlookers who stroll at the whim of the pages and posts of their virtual friends. This tendency is also combined with pride or envy towards those who show a certain triumph and whose glory splashes in our face. Footballers, singers, artists are emblematic examples of this admiration tinged with a touch of jealousy that can lead millions of people to adore illustrious personalities here and there.
The sadness is less selling, it disturbs in that it can be the mirror of our own darkness. This confrontation with these sad passions makes us cold so we prefer not to see this other self.
However, sadness is more than our human ferment, it is the immaterial link between men. This emotion is experienced by everyone, most often in intimacy. Therefore, it is an emotion that touches something deep within us.
Joy, although it can be intense, will never penetrate our being as much as sadness. Do you remember more of your deepest joys or your darkest moments of sadness? It is likely that the latter is your answer.
Given this reality, when we connect with others, it is primarily through sadness that we can penetrate people’s souls and forge an unbreakable bond. It is because we are willing to share a moment of sadness that we can better understand a person from the inside. A shared fragility creates an unbreakable affinity.
