Gratitude Day 24: Kierkegaard's Mistress or: Maybe I Should Feel Something

What is a poet? An unhappy person who conceals profound anguish in his heart but whose lips are so formed that as sighs and cries pass over them they sound like beautiful music. People crowd around and say to him, “Sing again soon”—in other words, may new sufferings torture your soul. (...) Besides my other numerous circle of acquaintances I have one more intimate confidant—my melancholy. My melancholy is the most faithful mistress I have known; what wonder, then, that I love her in return. —Søren Kierkegaard, writing as "Victor Eremita" (Victorious Hermit) in the "Diapsalmata" section of Part I of Either/Or Is there a purpose in melancholy? To what ends is a human soul stamped with difficulty and unspeakable groanings? And what in the world does this have to do with gratitude?!? Am I grateful for my melancholy, or would I just be grateful to be rid of it? I certainly don't suggest that anyone should take Kierkegaard's view of it at face value, let alone as advice for healthy living.…