A lot of information can be found about crying, why we cry, how we cry and when we cry. Of course there is also a lot about when we shouldn’t cry but that is another story. This article covers so much it is worth the time it takes to read it. We are all going through so much, I believe crying is healthy and we should do more of it.
The loss we have experienced and are still experiencing is too much to list, but I will try, visits, groups, spiritual and religious gatherings, birthdays, celebrations, grieving services or rituals, movies, plays, concerts, pottery lessons, exercise classes and all the connections that we took for granted. Connections have been harder to make, perhaps they were already hard for some. Are we slowly moving towards increased connections? A combination of in person and virtual? Maybe, but will it be taken away again, perhaps. This is worth some tears.
Wikipedia says that tears “functions include lubricating the eyes (basal tears), removing irritants (reflex tears), and aiding the immune system. Tears also occur as a part of the body’s natural pain response. Humans are the only mammals known to produce tears as part of an emotional response, such as out of joy or grief.” So tears have a function, why are they so rare? Check out this additional article on tears. The author, Jane Brody, says “The shedder of tears is likely to apologize, even when a devastating tragedy was the provocation. The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional outpouring. But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, links between illness and crying and the chemical composition of tears, both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive.”