Sadness hits like a tidal wave, or it climbs in a gradual crescendo. And just as the manner of its onset is varied, so is its source.
Personal matters in the present provoke acute sadness for us, whether it's a family tragedy or a terrible setback.
Likewise, past calamities in our lives create powerfully sad responses as well. These sources, though distant, can be a bottomless well that we can't help but reach into every now and again.
And outside the personal realm, sadness can be caused by observations of tragedies that we are only spectating. But though they don't impact us directly, our compassion is incited and the tears come flowing just as hard.
kyukale0310 asked, "What makes you sad always?"
Never Any Easier
"Death of my wife. It has been almost 13 years and I can start bawling my eyes out at the drop of a hat. Sad commercial, country western song, sappy movie. I just sob."
"She was the light of my life and the apple of my eye. We shared 29 glorious years but it will never have been enough. She was only 50."
-- phil8248
An Demoralizing Confirmation
"Sometimes I'll be telling a story, and I don't think anyone is listening, so I just stop in the middle, and I am right." -- middleagethreat
"I was a freshman about to leave for the dorms in college. Realized my mom wasn't listening. And it was when I realized she wasn't listening all these other times too. My whole life she hasn't been interested in most of what little stories and things that I was telling her."
"It really hurt and I went from thinking I was going to call her every week and share my college life with her to going every month or so. Our relationship was never the same because I realized she just wasn't interested." -- saturnspritr
Taking Stock
"My age. While 70 is a milestone, I miss the days of youth. I miss my vigor and energy. I wake up sad some days because I know my days on this earth are dwindling."
"I wish I had done more in life even though my accomplishments in my career were satisfying. I wish we had had more children. At the same time, I'm glad to be retired, even with the meager pensions we have now."
"And after 50 years of marriage, I'm glad to spend my final years with my best friend and lover. I'm sad there's just so little time left."
-- QuackedUp99
What Could Have Been
"Seeing pictures of my dad. My parents divorced when I was 3, and courts didn't allow a lot of visitation time for my dad. He finally got me out of a bad situation with my mom when I was 15, and got me back on track."
"He died a few years later, and I always feel like I got cheated out of having him in my life."
Unsettling Trends
"How many friends I've gradually lost over the years (I'm 35) just because of drifting apart, starting families, etc and how at the same time, it has become exponentially harder to make new friends." -- wxmanify
"I'm a month shy of 35 and it's gotten to the point that I have exactly one friend I still see from time to time. It definitely gets harder to make new friends, but I see it as a sign that I need to branch out and try new things as a way of meeting new people."
"A shrinking friend pool is an indicator of needing to push yourself out of your comfort zone a little more, at least in my view."
"Once this pesky pandemic is behind us of course." -- JuniusBobbledoonary
Anticipating Tragedy
"That there will be a time I pet my dog for the last time." -- LeadfilledBeanieBaby
"My dog is 10.5 years old. My husband and I got him in our early 20s. We've had two kids, bought a house, and have built a pretty great life together. Our dog has been there for all of it. He's grown up with us."
"We always have joked that the dog is dead when he's in a deep sleep. We'll say 'oh, the cat must have finally murdered him good this time' or 'RIP Seamus, it was good knowing you.'"
"We make jokes about it because we know it's going to hurt really badly when it finally happens for real. In the meantime, we'll keep joking about his death by cat" -- rosekayleigh
Aimless Dread
"Not knowing what exactly to do in life" -- Hunter0955
"May the following couple of sentences help you."
"Understand as much as we'd like to do many things in our life, the time is limited, therefore our options are too. Time is the currency of life. The one thing you can't buy. Try to figure out what you should do with your time and why."
"For that, Look into the Japanese concept of Ikigai." -- KILLA2-0
Internalizing the Chaos
"I don't know if this is just me, but sometimes I become hyper aware of the world. It's like I'll think about the horror going on in somewhere like South Sudan, the genocide going on in China of the Muslims or the rampant assault that goes on in the world and it just feels like a ton of bricks hitting me all at once."
"They don't directly effect me but at the same time I feel like if my grandkids ever ask me how I responded in those time I can't give them a justified answer."
-- texassadist
Self-Defeating Thoughts
"Sometimes I get really excited when I'm telling someone about a subject I love when my brain suddenly gives me this irrationally strong feeling that I'm just annoying the other person by talking at all."
"Then I usually just go quiet and don't want to talk or be around that person anymore. I just want to disappear, because my brain is a bully."
-- djb2589
Witnessing the Worst
"Seeing neglected children. Truly breaks my heart." -- deathofacarsalesman
"As a pediatric nurse, the number of kids I've handed over to go home with horrible, abusive parents keeps me up at night. Babies with broken bones, head trauma, neglect...social services is a broken system."
"These parents get too many chances to destroy lives." -- Iloveteatoo
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
@ZoeyCatBell
@twinkb23/Bluesky
@EvralW88115/X
@shanikom/Bluesky 
@Milezla1/X
@scotiasheppard/Bluesky
@greyreptilian/Bluesky 
@rickcity/Bluesky 
@kristengough/X
@Placidopv/X
@tylerblack32/X
@darlenemack28/Threads
@syvn514/Threads
@carolineestout/Threads