Joy and Sorrow within One Heart

The Prophet

This flow traces the argument that joy and sorrow are joined experiences, with pain deepening the capacity to receive delight rather than standing wholly apart from it.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Joy Unmasked Joy Unmasked from "The Prophet". Joy Unmasked One Well, Two Expressions Almustafa says that joy is sorrow unmasked and that the well from which laughter rises was often filled with tears.

Joy Unmasked from "The Prophet". Joy Unmasked One Well, Two Expressions Almustafa says that joy is sorrow unmasked and that the well from which laughter rises was often filled with tears.

Joy Unmasked One Well, Two Expressions Almustafa says that joy is sorrow unmasked and that the well from which laughter rises was often filled with tears. He begins by placing the two feelings in a shared source. Emotion Reconsidered Joy is not presented as a state untouched by grief. The teaching asks listeners to look beneath a feeling’s surface and recognize the history held within it.

Sorrow Carves Capacity Sorrow Carves Capacity from "The Prophet". Sorrow Carves Capacity A Wider Heart Almustafa says the deeper sorrow carves into a person, the more joy that person can contain.

Sorrow Carves Capacity from "The Prophet". Sorrow Carves Capacity A Wider Heart Almustafa says the deeper sorrow carves into a person, the more joy that person can contain.

Sorrow Carves Capacity A Wider Heart Almustafa says the deeper sorrow carves into a person, the more joy that person can contain. Grief becomes a shaping force that enlarges the capacity for feeling. Art Made by Pressure He compares the heart to a cup fired in a potter’s oven and a lute hollowed by knives. The forms that hold and express beauty bear the marks of what was done to them.

Delight Remembers Grief Delight Remembers Grief from "The Prophet". Delight Remembers Grief Looking into Joy Almustafa asks the joyful to look into the heart and find that what once gave sorrow may now give joy.

Delight Remembers Grief from "The Prophet". Delight Remembers Grief Looking into Joy Almustafa asks the joyful to look into the heart and find that what once gave sorrow may now give joy.

Delight Remembers Grief Looking into Joy Almustafa asks the joyful to look into the heart and find that what once gave sorrow may now give joy. Present delight is connected to earlier loss and longing. Grief Remembers Delight He asks the sorrowful to look again and see that they grieve for what had been their delight. The movement works both ways, making each feeling an echo of the other.

The Two at the Table The Two at the Table from "The Prophet". The Two at the Table Inseparable Companions Almustafa rejects the claim that joy or sorrow is greater.

The Two at the Table from "The Prophet". The Two at the Table Inseparable Companions Almustafa rejects the claim that joy or sorrow is greater.

The Two at the Table Inseparable Companions Almustafa rejects the claim that joy or sorrow is greater. When one sits at a person’s table, the other sleeps upon the bed. Feeling Moves in Pairs The image makes the relationship intimate and continuous, not an abstract balance between opposites. A person may experience one feeling openly while the other remains close and waiting.

The Scales Rise and Fall The Scales Rise and Fall from "The Prophet". The Scales Rise and Fall A Changing Measure Almustafa compares people to scales suspended between sorrow and joy.

The Scales Rise and Fall from "The Prophet". The Scales Rise and Fall A Changing Measure Almustafa compares people to scales suspended between sorrow and joy.

The Scales Rise and Fall A Changing Measure Almustafa compares people to scales suspended between sorrow and joy. Only when empty are they at a standstill and balanced. No Permanent Settlement The image closes by showing emotional life as movement under changing weight. Balance is not the permanent defeat of one feeling but a temporary stillness within a continual rise and fall.

At the beginning of the joy and sorrow teaching

Early in the joy and sorrow teaching

In the middle of the joy and sorrow teaching

After the paired reflections on joy and sorrow

At the conclusion of the joy and sorrow teaching