"I can't stop crying"
If you think about that statement for a minute, it's interesting to notice that there is no emotion associated with it, and yet - you probably associated it with sadness and heartbreak.
After experiencing something really funny, where I've laughed until tears have streamed down my cheeks - I might say "I can't stop crying... with laughter."
During an illness, the tears would be through pain and I might say, "I can't stop crying... because the pain is intense."
- Fear?
- Anger?
- Anxiety?
Can't tears be associated with all of these emotions? To me, it seems that the tear is the physical expression and release of some emotion that threatens to overwhelm us. The mind and body triggers an unusual reaction. Saline water leaks from your eyes. When you stop and think about it - isn't that the strangest thing in the world? There is nothing magical about salt and water - but that is the mixture that comes from your tear ducts, and provides a catharsis.
What about the opposite?
Have you ever been in a situation where you haven't been able to cry? Isn't it strange that when that release is held back, all of our emotions and even physical reactions get bottled up and pressurized. We need that expression, we need that reset. It's good to release.
Holding back laughter, sadness, fear, frustration, anger or worse - ignoring them, can eventually lead to feeling locked away in a prison. Teardrops are precious. They're universal - across age, gender, nationality, economics, etc. To me, they signify growth and change through life. They happen to people all over the world, for any number of reasons. Even though our situations are all different and we're isolated from one another, we share something in common: teardrops.
Differences don't have to divide us. They don't necessarily have to isolate us, and make us feel alone - when we truly aren't. From laughter, sadness, fear, pain, anger, anxiety...
Teardrops connect us.
Image source: Teardrop - on fire, made by
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