Deep joy and deep pain in the density of life

"The possibility of deep joy requires a commitment to the density of life. This however means an openness to the possibility of deep pain"

~ Peter Rollins

Yes, the density of life is deep and wide, and contains the possibilities of both deep joy and deep pain. One cannot truly exist without the other, and so it is by embracing deep pain that we experience deep joy. It is one of the paradoxes of life, just like it is by embracing fear that we experience peace.

This quote reminds me of a devotional by Henri Nouwen I read recently about mourning and dancing - like deep pain and deep joy, both have their place and belong to each other.

"[There is] a time for mourning, a time for dancing" (Ecclesiastes 3:4). But mourning and dancing are never fully separated. Their "times" do not necessarily follow each other. In fact, their "times" may become one "time." Mourning may turn into dancing and dancing into mourning without showing a clear point where one ends and the other starts.

Often our grief allows us to choreograph our dance while our dance creates the space for our grief. ... Let's trust that the beauty of our lives becomes visible where mourning and dancing touch each other."

~ Henri Nouwen

It appears that we need the seasons of life for a complete growth and an experience of diversity and variety in life. The summers produce harvest and fruitfulness while the winters produce strength and steadfastness. It enables us to maintain a balanced perspective of life, such that in our moments of deep joy, we maintain our human empathy to relate to the sufferings of deep pain, and in our moments of deep pain, we retain our human capacity to relate to the experiences of deep joy.