For Crying out loud…

I have long believed that crying doesn’t get the respect it’s due.  There are too many anti-crying clichés. “Big girls (boys) don’t cry.”  “Stop it or I’ll give you something to cry about.”  “Don’t cry over spilled milk.”  “Don’t Cry out Loud”.   We are more likely to be told not to cry than given the encouragement to express the human emotion of sadness, fear, anger through the gift of tears.  Unquestionably, there has been a whole lot of crying in the world during the last year, and it has been warranted.  The release of tears, even if it doesn’t change anything, is a healthy way to relieve a whole lot of pent-up emotion. 

The Book of Lamentations in the Jewish Scriptures, most likely authored by Jeremiah, consists of five chapters of bemoaning the siege, fall and destruction of Jerusalem and expressing the terror of rule under Nebuchadnezzar.  It is a powerful testament to the anger, fear, and sadness that the Israelites felt.  It is honest, unleashed human sadness. For Jeremiah, lamenting is raised to the level of a spiritual practice.

The next time you feel like a good cry, indulge yourself.  If you are a parent or grandparent, teacher or mentor, please don’t make the young ones among us feel crying is weakness, or impoliteness or anything less than a God-given physical capacity to help keep our emotions healthy.

I came across this song recently and it seems to me the pandemic is a perfect time for lamenting and for  crying out loud. Click on this link: Oh For Crying Out Loud

Happy St. Patrick's Day to my dear Irish friends....