Misery, oppression, and injustice prepare us to appreciate freedom and happiness. When we make the simple shift in our lives to be happy and grateful for what we have instead of focusing on lack and limitations, we will open the doors to a much more comfortable and purposeful life. We must not focus our minds on how things fall apart, instead, we should appreciate how things came back together. This Rumi poem reflects on life after pain and sorrow.
Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots
so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place.