Holy Sadness
My holy moment at the "Happiest Place on Earth"
I met the character Sadness in 2019 at Disneyland. I had an experience I can only describe as a mystical holy moment in line waiting to take a picture with Sadness. Here’s my instagram post from then….
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In a society so set upon never feeling bad, it’s almost unbelievable that you can get your picture taken with Sadness at Disneyland.
But friends, it was unexpectedly cathartic.
First of all, whoever is in this suit nails it. Even the moments in between hugs and pictures are moments of sadness. Sadness is never out of character, just her glorious mopey self. So bravo to the Sadness actors.
Second, the line was longer to see Sadness than to see Joy just minutes earlier. I don’t think this is some commentary on this sickness of our society… as much as Sadness is something we are familiar with but feel a stranger too.
As we joined the end of the long line, I felt the cloud of Holiness descend upon us. I felt the thin space. I entered into some kind of holy vortex. I heard myself whisper “what’s happening?” as I looked to the front of the line...
I saw a severely disabled boy in a wheelchair reach out and hold Sadness’ hand for a good while as if he was saying “I know you...”.
I saw a middle aged single woman give her an unusually long hug before they took their standard Disney souvenir character photo.
I saw person after person wanting to have a moment of solidarity with someone they know so well but maybe are afraid to admit it.
I found myself taking a picture with my children but then deeply desiring to get a picture by myself with her... as if to physically memorialize the history of our long secret conversations together.
Sadness is a core emotion in all of us… meaning it’s suppose to be there. It’s there, not to bum us out, but to lead us to a deeper fullness of human experience. It’s been very helpful throughout my life to personify my fears and emotions.... to speak and interact with the very hidden parts of me that are leading me on that journey of wholeness.
I did have a magical time at Disneyland with my family! But unexpectedly one of the most touching and unexpectedly Holy moments was physically hugging Sadness at the Happiest Place on Earth.
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Inside Out 2 comes out this weekend and the reviews say it’s great… so maybe you want to go like I’m going to go with my family.
I like to make jokes and I like to make things so I made this mug for all of us Saddies, Eoyores, and Enneagram 4’s.
Lastly….
I dressed up as Sadness for Halloween 2020 because it seemed like the right costume for that year.
Brilliant post. Yes, we all feel sadness and it marks us a whole lot more than joy ever could. But sadness is the most incredible teacher as well. People do not realize this, but we learn so much more through our pain than through our joy. It has an emotional impact that is felt throughout the world, even if often we cannot speak the same verbal language, sadness will always be one that we instantly get all over the world because it is the one that talks the most to all of us. Thank you for posting this. It was incredibly revealing.
Oh the line about the thin space…it’s like a secret door that opens into a whole new world. Truly holy. And narrow. Not too many are comfortable walking in this space. Thanks for articulating this so beautifully.