I. How can sadness be healed?

Sadness is a well deep inside the body. It keeps swelling until the external, hard shell is pierced. Water comes out from the hole and turns into tears. Countless, little teardrops converge into a stream flowing out of the body.

Sadness can’t be healed if one covers the well with a lid. The water will burst out and destroy anything in its way. Sadness can’t be healed if one wipes the tears harshly from the face. The shame may come along with the pain. Sadness can only be healed if one fully immerses oneself in the well and gently embraces the gush of tears.

II. One might take the painkiller…

In the pink bottle lies one’s painkillers. “Click-click”, that’s the sound they make when one shakes. It’s the sound of the bell ringing on a warm spring afternoon, the sound of the candy box dancing in old granny’s big pocket – the sound of hope, and joy.

Out of the bottle comes out blue tablets. Take one, break in half, and swallow with water. The entire process is light, painless, and perhaps even a bit cheerful. The little blue thing moves through the throat, travels down the esophagus, and ends up in the stomach. There, it melts in the hot bath of acid, and the effects start to manifest.

III. Or, one can wake up to the reality.

Painkiller kills the pain. Soon, one loses the ability to feel pain. One’s heart races no more, but one’s palms start to sweat. One’s life does not become easier and happier, but one starts to wonder all day without a moment of regret. Pain no longer barks like a crazy dog, but pain is still there, only now, one is unable to perceive. One wants to cry, but one has no tears in the eyes.

Now one knows, pain never really fades. The painkiller creates illusions, a dream one resists to break, a fantasy one’s tempted to stay. The world is not a scary place, only if one chooses to face. The pain is not an impossible phase, only if one chooses to embrace.

The world is colorful.