Day 5 - 161 -- Tears and Strength

Have you ever wondered about tears? They appear for many reasons and play different roles. Three types of tears are produced by the body in response to different stimuli. One functions to keep the eyeball lubricated. If we stare at a computer screen for too long -- over 10 minutes -- we begin to blink less often and eyes begin to feel scratchy. This is when lubricating drops come in handy, though so would a break taken to look at something else every few minutes.  A second type works to wash irritants out of the eye -- dust, eyelash, or onion fumes. The type that I was pondering today are those that come in response to emotional situations. Over the past few days these have appeared with positive emotions -- pride, friendship, love -- and with negative emotions -- fear, sadness, shame. Other episodes came from empathy -- seeing someone demonstrating vulnerability. They also appear when feeling nostalgia or physical pain.

Tears can be cathartic by helping to relieve situational stress. Yet, often we hear "big girls/boys don't cry." Why? Crying for any emotional reason is human and not something that shows weakness. We should be able to cry with others, which may cause others to cry for empathetic reasons. This can bring people together -- a type of bonding, if you will. I was part of that experience this past week, too. I found the vulnerability expressed amazing. How can anyone think that demonstrates weakness? It shows amazing strength and trust. Building a safe environment for people we interact with should be our goal. In this case, the sharing brought insights and the ability to see the world through a different lens. Again, not in the least negative. I've had tears in the classroom before where students have commented that this showed the passion I had for the topic -- generally when discussing poverty or outdated attitudes towards treatment of others. Tears haven't been planned, but some days it is difficult to tell a story without reacting.

Pondering tears led me to many songs, but most were sad songs. I did find one that contains a bit of mixed emotion. Enjoy!

Joy Inside My Tears -- Stevie Wonder