"It is such a secret place, the land of tears." ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY, The Little Prince
The land of tears. It is a very secret place, at least it is for me. It is a land I usually visit alone, and not very often. It is a land I most often visit at night. During the daylight I travel the land of courage, strength and dignity. I can be seen most often standing tall, with my fist raised above my head, declaring to the world that I am strong and can not be broken. I proudly declare that no matter how many times I may get knocked down, I will always rise up again and fight to the end. Believe me, during the daylight, during the zombie apocalypse, you definitely want me on your team. That is the public me. It's not a facade, or an insincere character. No, that really is who I am. That is the character I show to the world. But, when the sun sets, and I am alone, sometimes I wander into that secret land of tears and I let them fall and bathe my soul like a balm. Something men could learn about women is that tears are nothing to fear. For me, at least, they are cleansing and do more to heal a wound than all the pharmacological medicines in the world. When we retreat to that secret land of tears, the men in our lives would be wise to do one of two things. Let us be, graciously, and understand that tears serve a purpose (as long as they aren't the cause of those tears....and that's another blog for another time). Or, put their arms around us and hold us tight while we ruin their favorite shirt with our running mascara. I would prefer the latter. No words need to be uttered. Just walk bravely into the secret land and share it with us so it isn't also a place of loneliness. Once we have let the fountain of salty tears flow, then we can face another day, fist raised, armor on, ready to do battle. It's important, again..at least for me, to go to the secret land of tears now and again whether I like it or not. If I don't, I find that the pressure starts to build and those wretched little drops try to force their way from my eyes during my public time and I am distracted from the things I need to accomplish by the constant battle to keep them from gushing out at the most inappropriate times. I pity the poor unsuspecting soul who carelessly utters the words, "how are you?' and then stares in horror as the water pools inside my lower eye lids and threatens to spill over the edge. I try desperately to smile bravely and say, "I'm fine" and then rush away, breathing like I'm in labor until the flood waters recede and I have control. I have visited many lands and enjoyed them all tremendously. But, the secret land of tears, although my least favorite place to go, brings the greatest healing.
The land of tears. It is a very secret place, at least it is for me. It is a land I usually visit alone, and not very often. It is a land I most often visit at night. During the daylight I travel the land of courage, strength and dignity. I can be seen most often standing tall, with my fist raised above my head, declaring to the world that I am strong and can not be broken. I proudly declare that no matter how many times I may get knocked down, I will always rise up again and fight to the end. Believe me, during the daylight, during the zombie apocalypse, you definitely want me on your team. That is the public me. It's not a facade, or an insincere character. No, that really is who I am. That is the character I show to the world. But, when the sun sets, and I am alone, sometimes I wander into that secret land of tears and I let them fall and bathe my soul like a balm. Something men could learn about women is that tears are nothing to fear. For me, at least, they are cleansing and do more to heal a wound than all the pharmacological medicines in the world. When we retreat to that secret land of tears, the men in our lives would be wise to do one of two things. Let us be, graciously, and understand that tears serve a purpose (as long as they aren't the cause of those tears....and that's another blog for another time). Or, put their arms around us and hold us tight while we ruin their favorite shirt with our running mascara. I would prefer the latter. No words need to be uttered. Just walk bravely into the secret land and share it with us so it isn't also a place of loneliness. Once we have let the fountain of salty tears flow, then we can face another day, fist raised, armor on, ready to do battle. It's important, again..at least for me, to go to the secret land of tears now and again whether I like it or not. If I don't, I find that the pressure starts to build and those wretched little drops try to force their way from my eyes during my public time and I am distracted from the things I need to accomplish by the constant battle to keep them from gushing out at the most inappropriate times. I pity the poor unsuspecting soul who carelessly utters the words, "how are you?' and then stares in horror as the water pools inside my lower eye lids and threatens to spill over the edge. I try desperately to smile bravely and say, "I'm fine" and then rush away, breathing like I'm in labor until the flood waters recede and I have control. I have visited many lands and enjoyed them all tremendously. But, the secret land of tears, although my least favorite place to go, brings the greatest healing.
