Crying has always been beautiful.

What makes you cry?

Most of the time, there's always a reason why we start crying. And more likely than not, it's something negative that's happened in our lives. Someone's passed away, you got rejected from a job after hundreds of job applications, or you're looking at all your friends in these happy relationships and wondering why you can't have the same.

We get sad after thinking about it all and start to cry. These things are happening. And we can cry. We cry and cry some more, thinking about the same sad occurrence over and over again. People tell you to stop crying, thinking it's a sign of weakness or maybe they're just sick of seeing us cry. Crying has always had this negative connotation, but it isn't the case at all.

Accepting Crying

Actually, I've started to look at crying as a sort of acceptance. Crying helps you remediate all the confusing feelings that are going through your head (and heart). I say heart because your brain can't make sense of everything. What you perceive might make you sad might be illogical, but there's still a reason why you're sad and want to cry. It's not that it's wrong to cry just because it's illogical, but gives you even more reason to cry because your brain can't make sense of it, but your heart can. 

Your heart is processing that pent-up emotion because your brain can't. It's turning those depressing and sad thoughts into something you can physically see. The pain you're feeling inside is so intangible that your body wants to make something to help your brain make sense of the crazy situation. Think of crying as this emotional trash can, helping your body discard these sad emotions. It might be the pile of scrunched-up tissues that you're now throwing away, or the wetness on your arm from using your arm to wipe away all the tears. Or maybe you're just in shock, with tears slowly rolling down your face. 

The thing is, that act of crying is beautiful. The same thing that was twisting yourself up is no longer inside you. And yes, you might argue that it's a temporary solution until you get sad about it again. But honestly, we can't deny that it makes us feel better at that one moment right?

We're free from those negative emotions for a beautiful five minutes and can think clearly and carry on with our lives. So why is crying so shunned? Why does everyone tell us “Don't cry, don't cry?”

I'm here to tell you that it’s okay to cry. It's not even just okay to cry, it's absolutely beautiful to be able to cry. Especially if you're someone who doesn't cry often, you probably have a lot of pent-up emotion that's been bottling up. Crying has always had this negative connotation but the more that you think about it, why is that? 

Don't you always sleep the best after a good cry? Don't you always feel like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders? We're shunned from crying in public and whenever we see someone doing that, we feel bad for them. We know that they're going through something difficult and taxing. We're watching them process their emotions in a way that the world has taught us to. 

So cry! Don't hold it in the next time you feel those tears start to well up; instead, let it flow. I want you to remember that it's completely normal. I promise that you’ll always feel better afterward.

I want to leave you with one last note! Just like the way that I'm telling you that it's okay to cry, remember to put a smile on! Even if you're sad, putting on that smile for yourself will convince you that things are going well. The more that you do it, the more that you'll believe it, and you'll soon be five minutes happier.