Joy & Sorrow

I was having a lovely discussion over tea with a dear friend the other day, and she reminded me of this perspective, one of my most favorite to reflect upon (originally given to me in a time of great need by another dear, insightful friend - thank you).

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the same well from which your laughter rises was often times filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that the sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?" - Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

There's nothing like the complexity, passion and emotion of the holidays to remind me of the poignant, dichotomous relationship between the joys and sorrows in my life. And, to overall make me very grateful for the opportunity to be a living, loving and feeling being at all.