Sadness

I've been itching to do this face art for SO long! A few weeks ago I went to see the new Pixar film 'Inside Out'. Even before I watched it I knew that I was going to do a face art inspired by the character 'Sadness'. I hadn't seen much in the way of trailers for the film. Usually if I'm waiting to see a film I will scope out every trailer, promo and TV spot to take in as much as I can. This time I decided not to spoil it for myself!

I had no idea how amazing it was going to be. I loved the concept of there being a control centre inside our brains with different emotions huddled around watching our every move and giving us a nudge in the right direction throughout life. Of course it is a children's film, but as always some jokes go over the heads of little ones and hit the adults with a barrel of laughs. I love the explanation of how we lose memories, as if it's as simple as someone pushing over a shelf and letting memories scatter all over the place. Some get lost forever, whilst others roll under some other shelves to gather dust, they become hazy but we can vaguely recall aspects of the memory.

'Sadness' as a character was me summed up perfectly. Quite frequently you can find me splayed out across the bed laying face down with my arms hanging over the edge, just so I can feel even heavier. I'll sigh loudly without realising, and 'no' will become my most frequently used word. Unlike 'Sadness' I am lacking a dark cloud to float around on though, I think I've earned one from all of the tears I've cried. We can't live with one aspect of our personalities dominating our lives. Nor can we be controlled by one emotion, something which the characters learn in the film. Although my life might often be in the shade, there has to be a light somewhere to cast that shadow. It might sound strange, but I'm grateful that I have experienced so much sadness in my life. Living with depression allows you to truly cherish the happy moments in life. Sometimes a sad memory can transform into something good. Initially we might only remember the joy of that moment, but I can often recall times when something sad enabled me to have a good moment. Sadness brings people together, it creates a calling for comfort, for safety and familiarity. If I suddenly descend into a low mood I usually need to sleep it off or have a good cry. Others might encourage me to try to hang on, to hold off on that nap or to stick around and see that the situation can get better. If I were to follow that advice it's more likely that I would lose the entire day to feeling low. Whereas if I embrace the sadness for a while, cry it out or sleep for a few hours I can bounce back later and enjoy what's left of the day. Don't shrug off the sadness, don't run away from it. Embrace it so the good in life feels oh so much sweeter.