Tears of pain, tears of joy, tears of a melting heart and tears for reasons unknown…The rolling down of tears has its own essence and vitality. Have you ever felt like crying like a baby, or experienced tears rolling down your cheeks when you see/hear/experience something heart-touching? These moments are worth capturing and cherishing for a lifetime.

When I was small I used to cry a lot. I cried over everything, no matter how silly it was. My friends bullied me a lot for this behavior of mine. And this made me a big “crying machine” over a period of time. Finally, I stopped doing so when they started making fun of me on each and every occasion. I tried very hard to hold my tears back. This turned me into a “stone-hearted being” for quite a long time. It was only when I grew up and experienced the world a bit more that I understood the worth of tears. I know there are many people like me who are forced to hold their tears or hide their tears. This is though more common in men than women. This is because we are taught to be strong and fight with every odd situation boldly right from our childhood. Strength, courage, vigor and vitality are some of the words that become important in our life’s dictionaries. Of course, these traits are important, I am not negating it. However, at the same time our emotions should also be given equal importance and space. Secluding emotions will make life more unbearable and unhealthy. That is why; if you have the opportunity then it is nothing wrong in venting out your pains through your tears.

Some say that people who cry are emotionally weak. But, I say it’s the other way round. People who cry are in fact strong because they have the guts to express their feelings no matter when and what. At least they are not pretending or becoming “plastic human beings filled with plastic emotions”. Human pain is universal. If a pin pricks you and a pin pricks me, we will feel the same pain no matter what our gender is, no matter in which part of the globe we stay and what we are. Tears are the gateway to emotions and your body’s natural way of coping up to the odds and evens of life. Let me tell you some interesting facts about tears:

  • Tears enhance our feel-good factor and elevates our moods.
  • Tears are natural-cleansing agents for the eyes and improve vision.
  • Chemicals involved in “happiness crying” and “sadness crying” is different.
  • Tears act as natural stress-busters and lubricators for your eyes.
  • Tears also help in detox process and prevent colds and flu.
  • When you are emotional tears roll down from the inner portion of your eye (the one that touches your nose). And when you are happy, tears roll from the outer edge of your eyes.
  • Tears help in maintaining homeostasis of emotions.

Usually you must have seen tears as a sign of weakness, but tears are an epitome of strength. If you know how to use your tears like weapons of development you will surely acquire triumph in whatever you do. When you get an urge to cry, do not hold yourself back. Instead, allow your tears to flow, flow and flow…till their fullest. Finally wipe your tears, take a deep breathe and make a strong resolution to make things right. This will boost your strength and confidence even more. You can do this simple experiment in your daily life too. Try to judge yourself in two different situations in which you cry and resolve the situation in one and hold your emotion back and resolve the situation in the other. You will see that the situation in which you held your emotions and tears back will increase a lot of discomfort, frustration and negative feelings. However, if you let your tears roll down, you will feel much more relief and get enormous strength to deal with that situation.

Therefore, next time you get an urge to cry, just go ahead and shed it off. Let your eyes roll out tears of your joy or pains, because:

There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
  Washington Irving 

Best Wishes,

Sareeta