The Release of Rain and Tears

 I hear rain falling softly outside my window and think of clouds, saturated by moisture, releasing water upon the earth.   In this process of releasing, the air is cleansed of impurities, the earth is renewed and refreshed and all who live on earth are given a vital resource.  As I listen, I think of tears and the cleansing, renewing, restoring release of emotional pain that come with them.  Pent up emotion wells up in us like moisture in the clouds, allowing us to express grief, sadness, anger and regret as they are released in healthy tears.

"Emotional tears have special health benefits. Biochemist and 'tear expert' Dr. William Frey, at the Ramsey Medical Center in Minneapolis, discovered that reflex tears are 98% water, whereas emotional tears also contain stress hormones that get excreted from the body through crying. After studying the composition of tears, Dr. Frey found that emotional tears shed these hormones and other toxins that accumulate during stress. Additional studies also suggest that crying stimulates the production of endorphins, our body’s natural pain killer and “feel-good” hormones.” Crying makes us feel better, even when a problem persists. In addition to physical detoxification, emotional tears heal the heart."*

 Unfortunately, tears are discouraged in our society; boys are taught that real men don't cry; and it is often seen as a sign of weakness.  If we're on the job or out in public, we have to hold back our tears because open displays of emotion are often associated with mental illness.  Everyday, we see pharmaceutical ads depicting sad, crying people as suffering from depression and in need of a drug to make them happy again. We don't dare allow ourselves to express normal human emotions, lest we be judged, offered a mental health diagnosis and given proper pharmaceutical treatment.

This is a difficult time for many people.  We are feeling genuine pain, for ourselves personally, for our families, our country and the world.  We cannot, nor should we, suppress our very genuine emotional reactions to our experiences in life.  It is important to allow ourselves to feel, to express what needs to be expressed and to release what we need to let go of. 

Through prayer, tears as they come, honest recognition of what we are feeling, and release, healing will come.  

Sometimes, we need to breathe into the pain, experience it and release it to find peace...

*"The Health Benefits of Tears": Psychologytoday.com