Tears
“As
a self-proclaimed non-crier, it is a fact that I have cried more—substantially more—over
the last few months than I have over the last few years. The pain of the world
grows closer and closer, as we have access to details around the clock. I can’t
help but cry, and they are no longer small tears.
Tracy
Belzer (A Journey of Sea and Stone: Holy Places Guide and Renew Us, p.151;
Broadleaf Books, 2021)
Some of
us shed tears easily. I know people who cry when you arrive, and cry when you depart, and several times in between. Some of us are simply emotional by nature. For
most of my life, I have been a non-crier like Tracy Belzer; especially over
things that fall under the heading of “sad.” If anything, sad things simply
make me angry. But this year—actually, for the last several years, I cry at the
least provocation. It’s just plain unnerving.
I
remember Wayne Muller, founder of Bread for the Journey, telling me that when
people are naturally empathic, they feel the pain of the world acutely—sometimes
even when they cannot name it. When we walk about with an open heart, and no screens
for the energy we allow in, we are likely to be overwhelmed by the sadness and pain
of the world. And overwhelmed people cannot be effective in helping either
themselves or others.
But
crying has other values—it provides the same release of feel-good neurotransmitters
(endorphins, dopamine) as laughter, only it’s not as much fun. Some people believe
that shedding tears is healing, and that one cannot heal themselves without
them. I’m not so sure of that. I tend to cry when something touches my heart in
a sweet way. I cry over patriotic music, not because I’m so much in love with
my country, but because my country is so wounded and cannot seem to realize its
wounds are self-inflicted. Crying doesn’t help with that, unfortunately, but it’s
at least understandable. I want to believe, as much as anyone else, in the mythology
of America, but my soul will not allow it. Until we can accept “the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” we will live in limbo and at war with
one another. Now, that is truly sad!
Whether
you are a love-crier, or a fear-crier, or a sweet-crier, don’t worry about
those tears. They are simply a natural human response like hick-ups or
sneezing. Tears do not indicate strength or weakness; they simply are what they
are. But if you allow them to flow, they will calm you. Tears come when they
need to and leave you cleansed.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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