Emotions are part of the human experience. They are not bad nor good, they just are. Laughter can lead to a flow of tears. So can joy, sadness, anger, pain and loss. Real men don’t cry, so my eyes just sweat a lot.
I have always been an emotional guy. Some women take that for sensitivity. Some take it for weakness. Me, I take it for experiencing the most that life has to offer at any given moment.
Often over the years, I have been embarrassed to express feelings to the point of tears. Try as hard as I can, I just cannot turn off that overwhelming feeling that bubbles to the surface like lava from a volcano, under great pressure that cannot withstand being held at bay under any circumstances. I’m not talking about the wetness that turns the eyes red. I’m talking about the wetness that runs down the cheeks and requires a sleeve to sop up the excess.
My tears can come from something as simple and un-daring as singing the national anthem. There are songs that I have learned to sing that took me dozens of rehearsals to eliminate the uncontrolled spilling of emotion. And don’t even try to stop the flow of tears when it comes to talking about family. I’m an emotional guy and still feel the need to apologize for it.
My sister Molly says that when two people tear up, it is the divine in each that is touched and connected. I agree. All I have to do is watch an old Johnny Carson show and watch him laugh to the point of tears over something that his guest would say. There is something that happens at a soul level that brings us all to the same level of humanity.
If anecdotes are the snippets of life that have significant meaning, then I say learn to laugh to the point of tears, as well as wetly express that undulating sob from the bottom of your being when wrought with pain. Your soul needs the release for both.
