I am always sad when I think about happinesses leaving, but I have started to understand that sadnesses can leave, too. I have been trying lately to welcome sadness like a bird that’s come to perch on a branch nearby for a moment. I try to just sit quietly and observe its details, to try to understand what is unique and special and different about this bird, to try to take note of what features I can use to identify it before it flies away. I find a little bit of happiness—or maybe, at least, comfort—in observing these sadnesses, and in identifying them with enough resolution that I am able to
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