Text of the meditation
In the dark times of sorrow, people approach very near to Truth. When the tears flow and the heart aches, remember then the sorrow of the world. When sorrow has overtaken you, remember that it overtakes all; that none escape it; that it is the great fact in human life that makes religion a necessity.
Do not think that your pain is isolated and unjustly inflicted. It is but a fragment of the great pain of the world. It is the common experience of all. Perceiving this, let sorrow gently lead you into a deeper religion, a wider compassion, a tenderer regard for all people and all creatures.
Let it bring you into greater love and deeper peace. Bear well in mind that nothing can overtake you that does not belong to you, and that is not for your eternal good. The end of sorrow is joy and peace.
James Allen (1864–1912), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (1913) – public-domain text, gently modernised.
The original 1913 text is in the public domain.
