I was listening to KUFM a while ago and this is what I heard: A young student was studying Sanskrit. One day the professor wrote "sad" on the blackboard. That word evoked certain feelings in the student. Then the professor put a dot under the 's'. The dot changed "sad" into a Sanskrit word, pronounced "shahd," which means to sit quietly and let the deep truths be revealed. That changed the student's negative perception of "sad" as a painful experience to a positive perception of opportunity.

I told you that to tell you this: separation and dissolution is difficult. Everybody loses at least a little, everybody hurts at least a little, everybody's sad at least a little. Everything seems different now - the traditions, the habits, the things you did, the reasons for doing them, the reasons for how you did them.

Now is a good time to sit quietly and see what reveals itself. It's an opportunity to rediscover facets of your personality that you might have lost, things you enjoyed doing that you gave up. Tell your kids what you're doing and invite them to do the same. Examine your lives and tell each other what you'd change if you could. Change it if you can.

And don't forget what Jimmy Buffett said. "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." He's right. This can be a crazy time. It probably is a crazy time. You might as well laugh.