Gregory the Great (ca. 540–604) spoke about compunctio, the holy
pain[,] the grief somebody feels when faced with that which is most
beautiful....The bittersweet experience stems from human
homelessness in an imperfect world, human consciousness of, and at
the same time, a desire for, perfection. This inner spiritual void
becomes painfully real when faced with beauty. There, between the
lost and the desired, the holy tears are formed.
—OWE WIKSTRÖM, PROFESSOR IN PSYCHOLOGY OF
RELIGION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UPPSALA from Bittersweet by Susan Cain
