I think is a great word to use in regards to life in general... don't get me wrong, it is what you make it to be I know, but bittersweet is a great description too

i absolutely agree

some of the best things in life (i think) are sad in a way because they're too brief, or will never happen again.

evenstar3 said:

Oh dear, thats my word for today..

I like the word poignant, they use it a lot too in movie blurbs

I guess I agree. Bittersweetness sums up a period in my life when I was trying to get an understanding of how I was going through some problems yet still there were these sudden moments of joy that I got from life.. Why did they coexist? The conditions of my life have been somewhat adverse (all lives are this way), but the joys of life inexorably asserted itself, even when conditions seemed really crap. Why? In my mind and heart, the reality of bittersweetness began to coalesce. I think life is generally nuanced, and we tend to ignore it.
[Edited 2/8/07 3:22am]