This chapter explores the importance of art in promoting greater health, life satisfaction, and lower rates of anxiety and depression. It discusses the concept of turning pain into creativity and the potential transformation of regret and sadness. The chapter also delves into the simultaneous experience of happiness and sadness, the distinction between longing and melancholy, and the balance between artistic and practical pursuits.
Have you ever been brought to tears by a TV commercial? Do you relish rainy days? Are your favorite songs sad ones? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you, dear listener, know the power of the bittersweet. It’s a feeling, an emotion, a way of being that Susan Cain explored in her #1 New York Times bestseller “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole.” She spoke with Rufus about the book in April 2022, and it remains one of our favorite conversations — certainly one of the most moving — so today we’re sharing it again. We hope it gives you goosebumps.