When I think of tears, I think of one of two types: physical or emotional. Tears may bring different thoughts to different individuals; however, I feel that all tears can fall into one of the two types that I mentioned above. Let’s first consider physical tears.
Health Line had an interesting article on
some facts about tears that we may not always consider. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-are-tears-made-of Here I will ponder some of those that relate
to our physical tears.
Your tears are mostly composed of
water. I think most of us would not
find that statement hard to believe, but do you know what’s included with that
water? In addition to the water, our tears contain salt, fatty oils, and over
1,500 different proteins. I can’t begin
to speak for you, but I didn’t even know there were 1,500 proteins! Our tears also contain lower levels of
magnesium and calcium.
All this combination of things in our
tears allows them to make up three distinct layers:
1.
The
mucous layer keeps the tear attached to the eye.
2.
The
aqueous layer --- the thickest layer --- hydrates your eye, keeps
bacteria away, and protects your cornea.
3.
The
oily layer prevents the other layers from evaporating and also keeps the
tear’s surface smooth so that you can see through it.
Not all tears are the same. This article list three different types of
tears:
Basal tears. These are always in your eyes to protect from
debris and keep them lubricated and nourished.
They also mentioned reflex tears and emotional tears.
One of the points they mention that was somewhat of a
surprise to me was: Tears are meant to drain down your nose and throat. When you cry, producing many tears, the tears
mix with the mucus in your nose which is why your nose runs when you cry. What a surprise!
Here’s another point that I found very
interesting: Your tears contain messages that can be picked up by others. What? A
2011 study found that the tears we cry also send signals that others can smell
even though tears are actually odorless!
It’s not really understood how or why this happens, but studies are
continuing to be conducted in this area.
Crocodile tears are real - - - if
you’re a crocodile! You’ve probably
heard that expression: “crocodile tears” describing someone who is pretending
to cry during a certain situation. It
was actually coined from the book “The Voyage and Travel of Sir John
Mandeville,” published in 1400 according to the myth that crocodiles cry when
they are eating humans.
A 2007 study done on alligators showed
that when fed, the animals did shed tears, though the reason for the tears isn’t
fully understood. I don’t think it’s
because they are saddened in the fact that they would have to eat a human!
The article had many other points that you
may want to consider by visiting the link provided above to the complete
article.
But what about our second type of tears:
emotional? Both men and women cry to
show their emotions although in various studies it has been shown that women generally
cry more than men. Sometimes it seems
that women cry for no reason at all!
When a person is talking about the death
of another, especially when it is a child, tears well up into our eyes. At times we cannot seem to control this
reaction. You have probably seen
television commercials on how animals can be so mistreated by humans or perhaps
you have seen those commercials about hungry and starving children in other
parts of the world. Your heart goes out with
compassion for those types of situations and at times the mere watching of
those commercials brings tears to your eyes.
However, when not watching a scene from a tv screen but being in the
actual situation, face-to-face with other people, we are usually ashamed to
show our emotions. Often, men will feel
that it is not “manly” to publicly display their emotions. We try to hide the compassionate person we
may truly be.
An article posted by Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-nourishment/201703/tears-pain-and-tears-joy
stated “Tears are shed not only for our own benefit, but also on behalf of others. This reflects our own psychosocial and moral
development.” A display of emotions is
not something to be ashamed of. Just the
opposite! It shows that we are human and
have feelings like everyone else.
The greatest man who ever walked on this earth
was not ashamed to show his feelings to others around him. One sited example recorded in the Bible at John
11: 33-35 when speaking of the situation when Jesus had returned to Bethany
after learning of the illness and eventual death of his beloved friend
Lazarus. “When Jesus saw her weeping and
the Jews who had come with her weeping, he groaned within himself and became
troubled. He said: ‘Where have you laid
him?’ They said to him: ‘Lord, come and see.”
Jesus gave way to tears.” What
an example of true human compassion for those feeling the sorrow of that
situation.
However, tears are also part of our
happier emotions. There are times when
we become so happy and overwhelmed that we cannot hold back the joy within us
and the tears flow. Happy tears aren’t specific
to age or gender, so in theory, they could happen to just about anyone who
experiences emotions.
A wedding, the birth of a child, any
situation that excites us emotionally to the point of great joy will often elicit
tears of happiness. That is within our
human nature to do so. According to
research done from 2015, happy tears happen when you experience emotions so
intense, they become unmanageable. When
these emotions begin to overwhelm you, you might cry or scream (perhaps both)
in order to help get those emotions out.
This type of emotion is also expressed for
us in the pages of the Bible. In Luke 7:
38, we are told of the women who brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil into
a meal situation and anointed Jesus’ feet prior to his death. Her joy of being there was displayed by her
emotions. “Taking a position behind him
at his feet, she wept and began to wet his feet with her tears…” Again, a public display of emotions.
What wonderful creatures we are when we
can produce these wonderful tears that not only benefit us physically, but help
us show the depth of our inner emotions of either sadness or happiness. We are truly marvelously made. With great joy we can exclaim: We’re only human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
"Save my tears
as a reminder in future days
of what has happened to me in the past."
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