‘There is a sacredness in tears.  They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.  They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.  They are messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love.”

– Washington Irving

It seems that everywhere I turn this week, there is someone crying.  We all do it from time to time; and the reasons we cry are as plentiful as the tears that fall.  There is something cleansing about a good cry, yet we tend to feel apologetic and even embarrassed when our tears flow.  We learn long before we are grown to hide our tears so that other people won’t see them.  I’ve been wondering why we do this.  Why would we go to the trouble of denying that we do something that is universal to being human?

Perhaps we feel weak when we cry.  It does take a lot of energy from our physical body when our emotions take over!  Do we see ourselves as vulnerable to attack when our tears flow?  Maybe that would be a reason to hide the fact that we are crying — at least from all but the few and dear people we would trust with our well-being.  Perhaps our vulnerability is of another sort.  It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  I think it could be said that tears are the windows to our raw emotion — our soft underbelly that we cover and show only to those who will touch it gently and not cause us any further pain.

I love what Washington Irving has to say about tears — that they are sacred, and a mark of power; that they express both overwhelming grief and unspeakable love; that they speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.  When I read his words, all I can think of is prayer.

It is in the attitude or state of prayer that we as humans become most vulnerable and most open in our oneness with God/Source/Creator.  It is only with our soft underbellies exposed that we can put aside our egos long enough to know the power of something that is greater than ourselves.  Could it be that our tears are a sort of prayer that brings us, without pretense, into the presence of Love and Light that is beyond simple understanding?

Now I think again of the river of tears that flows through humanity.  I think of the people I know — myself included — whose tears flow in expression of grief, of love, of all things unspeakable.  I think of the way that beautiful music or artwork can move us to tears, and how the gift of a fistful of dandelions from an innocent child can do the same thing.  I think of the way that tears are followed by a period of calm silence that brings sleep to our bodies as our emotions are put to rest.

I think once more of the river that has flowed past my door this week; and as I do, I realize how honored I am to be allowed into the presence of these sacred tears.  What a privilege it is to sit in the center of the grief, the love, the unspeakable joy of another and to feel their tears begin to well up in my own eyes.  It is truly a blessing and a sacred trust to reach out and gently touch the soft underbelly of another human being.

My own tears fill my eyes as I ponder their beauty; and I invite you to join me in a promise that the next time the sacred and unspeakable parts of our lives express themselves in tears, we will let them flow and not try to hide them.  Will you sit by my river and listen to the music as it passes your door?