Nobody likes feeling sad. But avoiding such moments would cause you to miss some of life’s greatest beauty. Sad moments enrich the life experience by reminding you what matters. Sadness broadens your range of feeling. If you were incapable of feeling sad you would be denying a part of yourself and ultimately damaging your emotional health.

The ability to feel sad in response to the inevitable losses and failures we all experience keeps us human. It shows how much we care about others and our own lives. Sadness is an essential element in the range of feelings and a necessary component of emotional health. Those who try to avoid ever feeling the pain, or who drive themselves to be upbeat and positive at every moment, miss out. They put enormous pressure on themselves.

When sadness arises, because of a specific loss or just in general, the only thing to do is to recognize the feeling and, for the moment, feel sad. It will pass. When you come out the other side you’ll be emotionally stronger and healthier for it.