Commentary on Crying

I used to scoff at the idea of crying. As with many people today, I felt that crying was a sign of weakness; in certain situations crying even offended me. I held this standard for men and women; especially today's independant woman; one whom of which I considered myself to be. Crying over a relationship; even worse. Secretly, I judged people who cried and dismissed them as needing to get a grip.

Harsh perspective indeed. I didn't know it then, but I was so disconnected from love. It was my mental reasoning that crying would show the world that I wasn't tough; and I needed to be perceived as tough so that could show the world that I did not need love. I was ailing, angry and self-destructive. Let me add unforgiving and judgemental. The building of this protective shield was all that I needed to ensure that I would never experience anything good.

This may not be the case for you, but in retrospect, my inability to cry (or want to cry) was a response to childhood abandonement and rejection. No, I wasn't dropped off in a paper bag on anyone's doorstep. I grew up in a home where I've never seen my single mother cry. We struggled daily as a family on all levels, but somehow my mother's inability to connect with her emotions injected and shaped who I became: a woman who could only count on her perceived toughness to survive.

Crying is the emotional release of the daily wear and tear of living and it is one of the most amazing gifts we can give to ourselves in terms of self- healing. When you cry you declare to the body, mind and spirit that you have the right to release what is being held inside. You are acknowleging to your spirit that you have the right to feel good and that you are being obedient to your heart by self-cleansing it so that it can function properly.

Now. Whenever I feel sad, or joyous or feel any emotion that makes me overflow with love; I release it. And I release it as often as my spirit will allow. This is not blubbering, sobbing, desperation, or wanting sympathy; its simply not about "the act" of crying. It's about the release of negative emotions that prevent us from keeping in tune with what is going on inside of us. Think: emotional sound check.

This might sound corny but think of how brightly the sun shines after stormy weather. The tears that we shed are preparation for the gratitude of life's goodness. We need the rainy days to appreciate the sunny ones. Crying is not a sign of weakness; it is having the willingness to let go of past hurts. Those past hurts could have been eons ago or five minutes ago. Crying makes you feel five years younger, keeps your spirits fresh and revived, and keeps the mechanism known as your heart pulsating with love and forgiveness.

The release of your tears removes blockage. And with less blockage the path to living blissfully becomes easier.