Crying

The tear, possibly the most perfect expression of emotion available to humanity. Tears are the natural overflow of an intense emotional experience, joy, relief, pain, sadness, humiliation, etc. Unfortunately crying has become a sign of weakness, especially for men. A man who cannot control his emotions and present a stoic exterior to the world is deemed a failure. Recent attempts have been made by the feminist movement to encourage men to express their emotional side, yet I have witnessed the natural recoil of those same advocates of emotional expressiveness when confronted by a weeping man.

As men we are presented with this conflicting dichotomy, freedom to express our emotions openly and let the tears flow, and an unspoken rule that says men can not cry. Everyone will give voice to the first and strongly support it, but almost without exception, those same people will, with their body language, condemn the man that dares to cry.

As a result, men in our culture struggle with giving the appropriate emotional response in a given situation. I often find myself half crying, filled to overflow with intense emotion, not necessarily sadness, often worship or joy, yet having no source of release. The result is a tearing up of the eyes and otherwise stoic features. The only clue to my true feelings lay in my eyes, a quick blink or two, a moistness around the lashes.

The suppression of strong emotion at times when it threatens to overwhelm me has led to the inability to experience proper emotions, for example, at a time where tears of sadness are the appropriate response, I feel nothing, I convince myself to feel sorrowful to the point where I can muster up a few sniffles to look like a caring human being.

There is a balance to be maintained however. Emotions should not have complete control over our actions, self-control is key in every aspect of our lives, it simply would not do to have people burst into sobbing fits on a whim, neither would hysterical laughter be an appropriate response.  I rather enjoy the awkward half crying that sometimes overtakes me, even though it is a symptom of the dysfunctional nature of our society, I embrace it and revel in the release of emotion that is so raw and powerful.

"Jesus wept," one of the shortest verses in the Bible, yet it speaks volumes. Jesus broke down, opened himself up for public humiliation and let go of his emotions when confronted by the death of his friend. There is no shame in crying, but remember, everything in moderation.