Why do people cry?
“Maybe emotion becomes so intense your body just can’t contain it; your mind and your feelings become too powerful and your body weeps.”–City of Angels
Have you ever cried so hard that your tears weep from the depths of your soul?
I have. Recently…
About a month ago, I had something difficult and unexpected happen in my life. Something I wasn’t particularly prepared for, but knew could happen. And when it did, and I understood that the experience was real, I began to cry. The kind of cry where you full-out weep, with your hands over your face. And tears like raindrops creating puddles and waterfalls cascading over your hands onto the floor. The kind of tears that run down your face with trails of black mascara. The kind of cry that makes your cheeks and eyes turn red. The kind of cry that weeps deep down from the pit of your soul. The kind of cry that leaves you feeling numb when you are done.
For a few days the tears just kept coming whenever they felt like it: washing dishes, combing my hair, hugging my husband, petting my cat… I stopped here and there wiped my nose, caught my breath, and sat quietly too.I got a break every once in a while, however, where I could feel quiet and calm. And regain some sense of myself. And day by day it got a bit easier and the tears got a bit less…
Tears and crying are a part of our creation; they are a part of our human design; i.e., they are a part of life. We hear of people weeping in stories, we watch it happen on TV, and we also weep. Tears have a purpose in our creation. Something changes in us when we cry. So I ask, What changes within you when you cry?
- For me I realize over and over it’s like the quote at the begining from City of Angels: allowing ourselves to cry allows the deep pain within our bodies to be released. Crying allows your mind, body and spirit to release the pain, the anger, the grief, the anxiety, and the fear. And we are changed by this release.
Are you one to cry and let out your grief? Is it a comfortable release or something you avoid?
We each make meaning out of our emotions and others emotions differently. Tears, and crying can mean very different things to each of us. Thus, we all have different comfort levels with grief, and especially grief that is outward, such as tears. Tears can be a very natural and comfortable release for some of us, and for others of us, tears can be very uncomfortable and try to be avoided. How we make meaning out of our expression of emotions effects our journey of healing.
When I worked in the hospitals and visited patients, sometimes we would have a deep conversation that opened itself to the person needing to release their suffering through tears, and yet s/he would stop himself/herself from crying because s/he saw tears as a sign of weakness. I would encourage him/her to let out the tears, but often the person was unable because s/he wanted to be strong.
I believe tears, are a great source of healing for us. And thus, allowing ourselves to cry makes us stronger because when you cry you make space within your mind, body and spirit for healing to happen. Instead of holding in anxiety, grief, anger, fear which weaken us and can make us ill, your body is being given permission to heal because you are “letting go” of these feelings.
So my answer to my question, What changes within you when you cry? is:
CRYING allows You to BEGIN to HEAL.
So even if you haven’t been one to cry, or even if you are one to cry..
Remember, sometimes it is good to cry and let grief have its way. Your tears allow you to release pain, sorrow, and disappointment, in a very bodily, and emotional way. And allowing yourself to cry makes room for healing and hope.
May you allow yourself to grieve when you need to, and to open yourself to hope and healing, as you go through the process.
And most importantly as you grieve:
Be gentle with yourself, you are a marvelous creation, even your tears are a part of the wonder you are.
There is a Divine LOVE ready to embrace you.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
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