"How does one know if she has forgiven? You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him. You tend to have nothing left to say about it all."

Sadness

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on sadness by Clarissa Pinkola Estes resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in sadness is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Clarissa Pinkola Estés Ph.D. is a Mexican-American writer and Jungian psychoanalyst. She is the author of Women Who Run with the Wolves (1992), a New York Times bestseller that remained on the list for 145 weeks and has sold more than 2.7 million copies according to the publisher. The book was reissued in a 30th Anniversary Edition by Rider & Co in 2022.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

"I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and you laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom."

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes
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"Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. And it is youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war."

— Herbert Hoover
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"I'm sad to say that stardom is a commodity in our culture."

— Christine Baranski
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"My kids say if there's any family dinner that doesn't result in somebody crying, it's not a good dinner. They cry because it helps relieve them of a guilt or some onerous emotional burden. It's like a family tradition."

— William Shatner
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"The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together."

— Saadi
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