As much time as I have spent recently writing about my daughter's seemingly endless supply of tears, I had another experience with crying today. As I walked into school, I walked past another teacher with tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were red, and I could see that she was trying not to sob openly. I asked if she was OK. Someone close to her had died suddenly. I could empathize with her obvious emotions, but I didn't know the person.
I walked away feeling sad for my colleague, but thinking about the purpose behind tears. How wonderful a God we have that he created within us a release for emotions, that he created beings capable of such depth of emotion that we need a release. Our eyes need moisture to function, but what purpose do emotional tears actually serve? According to an unknown online source, tears release hormones and chemicals our bodies produce when feeling sad or angry. Another suggested they are part of a societal survival mechanism. Either way, we were made with a tool to deal with overwhelming feelings, to release pain and demonstrate sympathy or empathy.
This teacher was crying for a husband of a friend. While someone relatively close, her tears were mostly empathy. She was crying because of the pain her friend was suffering. How blessed are we to be such creatures that can feel such intense pain and suffering for someone else? It is easy to be sad, angry, happy, or frightened for ourselves, not so easy to be willing to set aside our own burdens to take time to feel for others.
Equally surprising sometimes is the laughter that erupts from something joyous. A lot of times my daughter does something especially sweet or cute that touches my heart and an unbidden laugh springs from me with such a power no comedian can summon, laughter so pure that it feels like champagne bubbles rising in the air. If tears release chemicals and hormones, what does laughter do?
After spending some time researching it. Laughter serves to relieve tension and express emotions and as a societal communication, but does not actually serve a biological function. God just gave us laughter for fun, to help us heal from our tearful and fearful moments. And he gave us, not only the ability, but the desire to share the emotions of others.
Many times tears are harbingers of horrible news, especially near a military base, but I still feel very blessed that God gave us the ability to cry them, in sadness or joy. Believe me after the frustrating week of all the bad parts of mommyhood and only few of the good, I wish I could cry. I need the release.
I walked away feeling sad for my colleague, but thinking about the purpose behind tears. How wonderful a God we have that he created within us a release for emotions, that he created beings capable of such depth of emotion that we need a release. Our eyes need moisture to function, but what purpose do emotional tears actually serve? According to an unknown online source, tears release hormones and chemicals our bodies produce when feeling sad or angry. Another suggested they are part of a societal survival mechanism. Either way, we were made with a tool to deal with overwhelming feelings, to release pain and demonstrate sympathy or empathy.
This teacher was crying for a husband of a friend. While someone relatively close, her tears were mostly empathy. She was crying because of the pain her friend was suffering. How blessed are we to be such creatures that can feel such intense pain and suffering for someone else? It is easy to be sad, angry, happy, or frightened for ourselves, not so easy to be willing to set aside our own burdens to take time to feel for others.
Equally surprising sometimes is the laughter that erupts from something joyous. A lot of times my daughter does something especially sweet or cute that touches my heart and an unbidden laugh springs from me with such a power no comedian can summon, laughter so pure that it feels like champagne bubbles rising in the air. If tears release chemicals and hormones, what does laughter do?
After spending some time researching it. Laughter serves to relieve tension and express emotions and as a societal communication, but does not actually serve a biological function. God just gave us laughter for fun, to help us heal from our tearful and fearful moments. And he gave us, not only the ability, but the desire to share the emotions of others.
Many times tears are harbingers of horrible news, especially near a military base, but I still feel very blessed that God gave us the ability to cry them, in sadness or joy. Believe me after the frustrating week of all the bad parts of mommyhood and only few of the good, I wish I could cry. I need the release.
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