Longing

I often say that I can’t look at my old photos without feeling sad.

Tonight, as I was deleting thousands of promotional emails and unsubscribing in an attempt to quiet my inbox, I ended up in my photo albums, looking for some items to delete. I felt that sadness.

Then, I remembered this image of a ‘sad’ umbrella published by Susan David, who wrote Emotional Agility.

If I were to try to pinpoint a more specific emotion that evokes that feeling of sadness, perhaps it is longing.

Longing for people I miss.

Longing for pets we have lost.

Longing for places we called home.

Longing to hold onto those happy memories.

But you know what I think? All that longing has made me sad.