06:16

Being With Sadness

by David Young

Rated
4.6
Type
talks
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
4.3k

We often reject sadness. We resist it. We don't want to be "down". In this short interview clip, I invite you to make your moments of sadness sacred. To really hold your sadness in your awareness and be surprised at how to opens to you. When we give reverence for all of our life, including sadness, we become sacred. And we are held in the love that we are.

SadnessEmotional AwarenessEmotional HealingEmotional AcceptanceSelf CompassionEmotional IntegrationMindful BreathingSelf ReflectionAwarenessReverenceLove

Transcript

I'm noticing I'm feeling sad.

And the interesting thing about sadness is,

Well,

Like a lot of emotions,

Particularly the big three,

Fear,

Anger,

And sadness,

We're raised to think that we're not supposed to feel that way.

And so I think the first thing when I feel sad is I I think I notice the resistance that I have to being sad,

To feeling sad,

Noticing sadness in the body.

So I notice myself letting go,

Letting go of that resistance.

And when I let go of that resistance,

I actually get some distance from it,

Some distance from the sadness,

Almost like I'm zooming out to really get all the dimensions of it,

All the sides of it,

I guess you could say,

To really feel it for what it is,

Almost like I could hold it in my hand and examine it from the different sides.

And I'm not examining with my mind,

I'm feeling it,

You know,

The different aspects of it.

And the hands that hold,

You know,

The sadness or hold whatever emotion you might be feeling,

When you hold them genuinely,

Those hands are loving hands,

You know,

And I like to think that that's who we really are.

It's not the emotion,

It's the hands that hold them,

Loving hands,

Sacred hands.

And so for me,

I notice sadness kind of in my chest,

Like a tingling feeling,

Maybe a sadness in the face,

Feeling on the face.

Initially there isn't anything to think about,

You know,

What am I sad about or what's going on,

But just to breathe and kind of like a child coming up to you,

You don't talk right away,

You let the child kind of come in and sit first and know that the space is comfortable,

Is sacred,

Safe in a way,

And then there's something to say.

And sadness is the emotion of letting go.

Oftentimes the things that are,

We're letting go of things that we've been holding onto,

And oftentimes the things that we hold on most tightly to are our opinions,

Our ideas,

The things that we think we are or we aren't,

And sadness is the emotion of letting them go.

So that whatever life is wanting to offer to you can fill,

Fill that space that's made.

And I think that these loving hands that hold the emotion,

For me it looks like breathing,

It looks like releasing the emotions,

It looks like letting go of the emotions,

For me it looks like breathing,

It looks like releasing my hold and trying to change it or resist the sadness,

And just to notice it.

And then eventually I can start to examine,

Look at what are the thoughts I'm letting go of.

It's actually a healing emotion,

It's a healing sensation,

Like still waters that soothe,

That heal.

So when you notice sadness,

It's healthy to take some time and be alone with it and make it sacred,

Not making it significant because like weather,

Our emotions come and go,

But it's taking time to honor them as they come through,

Hear their messages,

Know that I am not my sadness,

But sadness is there.

And you can actually fully feel it when you do that,

Not just letting it consume you.

The loving hands that hold it,

The sacred hands that hold it they pour love into you,

They pour sacredness into you,

And you become filled and reintegrated instead of the disintegration that you might have felt when we were resisting sadness.

I think oftentimes when we're feeling something,

Like feeling sad,

We're not even feeling the sadness,

We're more feeling our resistance to it.

We're feeling that I shouldn't be sad,

That's kind of what we're feeling.

It's a healing taking place in the body,

And the body knows,

It knows how to heal.

What there is to do is to relax and let the healing happen.

Meet your Teacher

David YoungWashington, DC, USA

4.6 (430)

Recent Reviews

Scott

June 12, 2025

Very thought provoking. I needed this today. Thank you. Very genuine.

Francia

March 15, 2024

🙏🏾 Thank you David. For helping thru this moment. I came here to try something different than what I usually do when sadness is present and seemingly larger than I can process without just sulking in it. This was AMAZING. I feel capable now, more so than before. To feel it, give it space to exist and release ♥️✨️

Susan

March 26, 2023

🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼Thank you so much for this wonderfully words🗺️have a blessed day 🙏Namaste

Stephanie

January 2, 2023

This is just so beautiful, the more I listen to it the more stunning it becomes. There is so much truth, realness, and empathy here. Thank you for this sacred gift :)

Seema

November 6, 2022

Wow! What a wonderful powerful message! Much gratitude 🙏🏾 and love ❤️ Seema

Thalia

March 14, 2022

It felt like it got cut right in his sentence but I really wanted to hear more!

Sarah

March 12, 2022

I've never heard sadness talked of in this way before and it was just what I needed to hear today. Thank you!

Sunni

September 22, 2021

Thank you, that was very healing 🙏🥰🌻

Lucas

July 6, 2021

This really helped. Thanks🙂

Kathy

June 30, 2021

I lobe the language you use to describe the experience!

Seyi

June 17, 2021

A transformative view on the emotion of sadness. I love his candor in talking about sadness and guidance on how we can approach it.

Adrienne

May 4, 2021

Thank you. Beautiful and useful reflections

Charlie

April 11, 2021

Thank you. Your words reached right into me and gave me peace

Tess

February 11, 2021

Very helpful, I will definitely listen again. Thank you! 💚

Kristin

February 7, 2021

So simply put and conversational. I loved this. So helpful.

G

January 8, 2021

Very helpful explanation of how sadness and the resistance to sadness can move through our body. It feels easier to sit with the feelings without “needing” to know what it’s about...

Jenn

December 24, 2020

Thank you! Holidays are rough for me and I appreciate this so much!

Julia

December 17, 2020

That was really helpful, thank you 🌞

Kama

December 15, 2020

So beautiful. So raw. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Abigail

November 6, 2020

Thank you for the words and guidance to sit in the sacred space of sadness and let the body heal. 💜

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© 2026 David Young. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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