I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.
By Robert Browning Hamilton
GOD SPEAKS IN THE LANGUAGE YOU KNOW BEST – NOT THROUGH YOUR EARS, BUT THROUGH YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES!
My Commentary:
This brief and beautiful poem speaks a quiet truth that most of us only come to understand with time: pleasure entertains us, but sorrow forms us.
Pleasure is easy company. It fills our days with laughter, distraction, and lightness. Like the poet says, it “chatters all the way.” Yet, for all its noise, it often leaves little behind. It delights the moment, but rarely deepens the soul. We enjoy it, we welcome it, but we do not grow much from it.
Sorrow, on the other hand, walks silently. It does not entertain — it reveals. It slows us down, strips away illusion, and forces us to look within. In sorrow, we discover what truly matters, who we really are, and how deeply we are capable of loving and trusting. Sorrow teaches patience, compassion, humility, and dependence on God in ways pleasure never can.
As a priest, for 57 years I have walked with many people in both moments — weddings filled with joy and hospital rooms heavy with grief. And if we are honest, it is often in those quiet, tear-filled rooms that the deepest truths emerge. Sorrow becomes a teacher, not because it is good in itself, but because God works through it to shape the heart.
The lesson is not to reject pleasure, but to understand its limits — and not to fear sorrow, but to recognize its hidden grace. For when sorrow walks with us, we are never alone. Christ Himself walks that road. And in His company, even sorrow becomes a path to wisdom, compassion, and ultimately, resurrection.
How has sorrow in YOUR life become a path to wisdom, compassion, and ultimately, resurrection?
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