The human mind is a massive and complex machine that encounters an endless amount of experiences and equations daily. The human mind processes anything from eating breakfast to taking out your first loan to navigating the subway for the first time. The human mind goes through a whole hell of a lot, in a very small amount of time. Sometimes, it goes off the rails or gets overwhelmed, and you know what? That’s totally fine.
Life’s purpose to many is to find a way of always being happy. Find the job that makes you happy, the spouse that makes you happy, the lifestyle that, ultimately and again, makes you happy. Despite the fact that this is indeed an amazing goal to have for yourself, it’s crucial to understand and accept the times when we are not feeling so uppity and content.
Sadness is essential, sadness is part of a healthy and stable lifestyle. Well, in variation, of course. Needless to say, for those who can accept sadness in a healthy manner, it should be accepted, and not pushed away.
One extremely exceptional example would, of course, be Pixar’s feature animated film, "Inside Out." "Inside Out" is a fantastic story, following the ‘emotions’ of a small girl named Riley, who is growing up in a new town. Through malfunctions inside the “head”-quarters, Sadness and Joy are locked out and forced to fight their way back before the collateral damage is too much to bear. During this period of time, Riley is unable to feel either happiness or sadness.
As the story progresses, Riley is going through an extremely tough time in her life, between getting to know new people, get acclimated to a new environment, and let go of her past home life. When Joy and Sadness finally return to headquarters, Riley is given emotional release when she is finally able to feel a sense of sadness again, as well as happiness. Because she had not been able to accept her sadness for so long, emotions of anger, annoyance, and fear had been building up unhealthily to the point where her life was getting worse and worse to her by the day. By finally being able to release her tension in a family-oriented and much-needed cry, Riley is able to calm down and accept the fact that things are going to be OK, even if she is sad.
This idea of accepting sadness was one of Disney’s smartest and deepest moves within a children’s movie. Within a franchise built off of dreams coming true, and happy endings, it’s important to remember that each story can experience downfalls. Downfalls are essential, however, they are not permanent.
Whether you are still a child, or in the late years of your life, remember to accept your emotions. They’re all there for a reason.
