I’m not crying, you’re crying 

C.J. Stroud is a big guy. He stands 6 ft. 3 in. and weighs 218 pounds. He’s 21-years-old and started 25 games at quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The young man has seen his share of pressure moments, he won the 2021 Rose Bowl and played in the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals. Throw those big games out the window though. When the Houston Texans selected him as the second pick in the NFL draft last Thursday, Stroud sat back in his chair and broke down into tears.

Likewise, a recently-freed Ukrainian man cried when given an apple to eat after a prisoner exchange that allowed 44 captured Ukrainians to return home. Video of the exchange shows a line of men biting into apples after the successful exchange and one man cradling the apple in his hands with tears in his eyes. He said he had been dreaming of freedom for a year.

Finally, a North Carolina man became overcome with emotion after discovering his $30 scratch-off purchase in a convenience store turned into a $3 million lottery win last week. After scratching the ticket outside in the parking lot, he said he initially had a hard time processing what just happened. He just started crying.

We cry for many reasons, some big, some small, but all meaningful.

Image by Julian Paolo Dayag via Pexels.

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A flood of tears

I’ve been thinking a lot about tears and how it can often help us grow and learn and release the tension that builds up inside of us. My blog today on The Heart of the Matter, Moved to Tears, touches on my fascination with powerful words and images that bring us to tears. Medical researchers find that crying releases oxytocin and endorphins that help ease both physical and emotional pain, by first bringing on a numbness and then a sense of calm or well-being.

I get the medical benefits from tears, I’m fascinated more in how some words and images can bring on these emotions when we least expect it. We’re deep into our lives, we’re running to and fro, our emotions are in the here and now, and we happen to catch a glimpse of a great movie. We’re not planning to let ourselves go, but we’re sucked into the story and the emotion behind it and the tears start streaming down our face.

How does this happen?

Holding back the tears

I’m fascinated with how great movies like Beaches, Schindler’s List, E.T., The Farewell, Steel Magnolias and tearjerker books like The Lovely Bones, The Fault in Our Stars, Of Mice and Men, and The Outsiders to name a few, have that power. They catch us when we least expect it.

I mention in my post how W.H. Auden’s powerful poem, Funeral Blues, has that effect on me. I hear it and I feel the raw emotion that Auden is trying to convey. I try to maintain my composure, but it’s a losing battle. I can’t help but think about my own family and friends and how important they are to me.

And, letting go, more often than not, is exactly what I need to live my life to the fullest. Can you relate or is this just me? What works touch you?

Related Story:

Moved to Tears

On The Heart of The Matter.