 
Dear precious soul Sara,
Happy April to your heart. April is my birthday month, and I always treasure its arrival. Here I am in the beginnings of my life—I like to imagine this photograph was taken in April.
The other day, sadness arrived.
So I took myself to Golden Gate Park to scoop up some beauty, and sit with sadness at the same time.
It's so tempting to turn away from sadness, to feel like I don't have time for it.
But I've learned that sadness will wait patiently—sometimes persistently—until it receives some love and attention. It doesn't care how busy I am.
I've also learned to listen closely when sadness comes, because it always carries a gift.
The gift of presence.
When I can be truly present with my sadness, it becomes just that: a present.
It happened to be a Saturday, and I suddenly noticed the word "sad" nestled right inside it.
Sadurday.
I'd never seen it that way before.
Later, when I returned home, my husband David greeted me cheerfully:
"Happy Saturday!"
At first, it felt like an interruption to my sad feelings.
And then I remembered:
Joy and sadness are best friends.
They travel well together.
So when sadness visits, I practice welcoming it.
Sitting with it.
Letting it be a friend of my heart.
I send you the willingness to do the same.
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