Joyful Participation in the Sorrows of the World

A Portrait of Joseph Campbell

Just as every horse believes its own pack heaviest, every age imagines itself uniquely burdened. Despite wars, depressions, plagues, and upheavals recurring so regularly, they continue to surprise us. With Trump in office, France and England on the verge of civil war, and Iran, Russia, and China plotting against us, the present may feel apocalyptic, but it is simply our turn in the long cycle of disorder and renewal.

This recognition need not drive us to despair. Even as crises mount, we still eat, sleep, and laugh. We fall in love, raise children, and watch the seasons turn. Life persists with stubborn grace. The question is whether we meet these times awake, or, like a deer in headlights, stand frozen as history barrels forward.

The Stoics urged us to see adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow. Marcus Aurelius called this “the raw material for virtue.” Buddhists remind us that suffering is the very texture of existence, woven from our attachments and expectations. Both traditions reveal the same truth: the root of our suffering is striving to force the world to conform to our desires.

Given that sorrow is inseparable from beauty, we must embrace joyful participation in the sorrows of the world, acting with courage, clarity, and compassion even when the outcome is uncertain.

History will continue to hand us fire, famine, and folly. Yet Campbell’s wisdom remains: our task is not to avoid sorrow, but to participate in it joyfully.

— Sina.

For Another Angle, read Elaborating on Joy by Kubs Lalchandani, Esq.