I’m back! Settled all snug into my new place, yay!! Resuming DailyBlogs.
**As a belated 2015 New Years Resolution, I decided I would write a daily (or, almost daily, I know some days I just won’t be able to find the time) blog answering a thought provoking question from a long list of questions I found here in a quest of self exploration.
Today’s Chosen Question :
Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or strength?
This is such a strange question to me, akin to something like “If a star falls from the sky, will your pancakes be extra syrup-y tomorrow morning?” How do the two things even relate? Why would crying be a sign of either thing?
Crying is a physical reaction to an emotional reaction, but the thing is, there is not a solitary emotional reaction that results in crying. Theres not even a general emotional range. I have cried because I am sad. I have cried out of anger, frustration, exasperation, but I have also cried because of happiness, relief, joy, or just having a sensitive heart. (I have cried watching puppy/kittten videos on Youtube.) So how could any of those things be corralled into some box claiming that tears are a signifier of strength or weakness? Crying is just crying and I honestly can’t tie it to either signifier.
I know we live in a sexist society where if a little girl cries she is such a sweetheart, but if a little boy cries they are told to “toughen up.” I suppose in that retrospect some people would view crying as a weakness, but I don’t agree with it in the least bit. Regardless of what genitalia our body has between our legs, we all have emotions and reactions to those emotions. As far as correlating crying with strength… I don’t know, maybe people would say “youre being strong enough to let out your emotions” or, “it takes strength to be that vulnerable” or something, but I really don’t think weakness or strength has anything to do with crying, personally. I could reminiss for another hour but I still wouldn’t feel any different, so sorry question, but I can’t really give you an answer you were aiming for.
If you have to cry, cry. For whatever reason. You don’t owe anyone an explanation or apology for having a physical reaction to an emotion, and you don’t need to condemn or praise someone for having a reaction, either. Crying, like laughing, is just a part of life and a part of who we are as people.
Kell Frillman - Author 