In dealing with the worst life brings — sickness, injustice, social upheaval, economic struggle, relationship problems, death — we tend to do one of two things, neither of which is right. We either stubbornly wallow in negative emotions or we desperately chase positive ones. Both cost us the view of life and eternity we’re supposed to hold.
Moreover, neither of these approaches actually deals with anything. They allow us to avoid fully dealing with life in its complex entirety. They rob us of the necessity to experience sorrow in a painful but redemptive way. They rob us of knowing joy to its full extent.