From a Richard Rohr post:
[There is a gravitas in the second half of life, but it is now held up by a much deeper lightness, or “okayness.” Our mature years are characterized by a kind of bright sadness and a sober happiness, if that makes any sense. There is still darkness in the second half of life—in fact maybe even more. But there is now a changed capacity to hold it creatively and with less anxiety. It is what John of the Cross called “luminous darkness,” and it explains the simultaneous coexistence of deep suffering and intense joy that we see in the saints, which is almost impossible for most of us to imagine.]
Recently, I received some very sad news for me. My heart is broken and my life will be forever changed. The challenge in mature life is to feel the sadness acutely, and yet know deep within that I am okay.
We tend to either feel the grief and plunge into depression or despair –
or, we go into denial mode
or productivity mode
and we MAKE ourselves be okay through sheer busyness.
LIVING
within the tension of
"I am firmly in the grasp of God's passionate love for me"
and "My heart is singing a dirge and conducting a wake"
… this is artful living.
Not there yet, but inviting Jesus into this space.