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| A toddler girl crying (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Last Time You Cried...
It's been said that real men don't cry, but I'll admit that I have. I don't cry often and when I do it's a short cry and not some ongoing bawling and sobbing thing. There are times when I have felt very sad, like when my parents died, but I didn't overtly cry. Maybe I cried internally and in my mind, but nothing that one would normally think of as crying. And in those cases there was a preliminary process of illness that prepared me for their deaths. Death is very sad, but it's also nothing we can do anything about once it strikes. Mourning does not always mean crying.
As an adult, crying has usually been the result of frustration concerning someone I loved who was doing something to damage or threaten the relationship. I did cry a few times when I was going through separation and divorce, but those tears did nothing to stop those things from happening. The crying was merely an expression that mostly was part of the process of grief. Divorce is one of the worst experiences that I've ever had. In most cases it's a sad and hurtful experience.
The last time I cried was at the end of a movie. I'm the king of willful suspension of disbelief. Last night I watched a film called The Music Never Stopped and I'll admit some tears welled in my eyes at various points throughout the film. I related to that film so much and connected with it.
In other words, I really get into the movies that I watch and invest a lot of emotions into them. Sad or even sweetly happy, I can cry easily if the story manipulates me in the right way. There might be a tear or watered eyes, but not extremely noticeable crying. My wife never seems to notice because it's a quiet short cry in the darkened living room. It's a cry within me that comes and passes quickly. That's a good cry because it doesn't leave me feeling sad.
Do you cry when you see an emotion laden film? What types of things can trigger the tears for you? Do you feel uncomfortable if someone around you is crying?
I am extremely sensitive and everything makes me cry. Even movies/shows I've seen hundreds of times. Commercials make me cry, stories I read....I'm always on the verge of tears.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, I almost cried watching a commercial last night. Talk about manipulation.
DeleteLee
I cried a lot when hubs had his heart attack and we didn't know if he would recover. It relieved the stress somewhat. However I used to refuse to cry when I got disciplined as a child. Which didn't do me much good. . .Sad movies can make me cry as can a book. I don't like crying in public, though, it feels too private to me.
ReplyDeleteDG, I don't think I've ever cried in public other than maybe when I was a small child.
DeleteLee
Being a cryer. I hate it. Fortunately when I have been in a difficult situation, I have not cried until later
ReplyDeleteAnn, depending on the difficult situation I'm more apt to get angry or extremely frustrated. The crying comes in more private moments of greater introspection.
DeleteLee
Usually a song at the right time will do it. The last legit cry was when I lost a close blog friend late last year.
ReplyDeleteCW, a song can evoke a tear especially if I relate the song to a particular event or a person that brings a sad thought.
DeleteLee
Ha ha. I haven't really cried since 1997ish. Yep. When you cry for two years straight, you just can't after that. Except, I've noticed lately I'm tearing up over dog rescue videos.
ReplyDeleteTeresa
Teresa, there you go. Dog rescue videos! I kind of get teary about some of the political stuff going on.
DeleteLee
I shed tears in small quantities very frequently, perhaps almost daily. I watch dramatic movies almost daily. I spend a lot of time with people who open up to me about their deepest struggles. I love very passionately. My tears are predominantly from empathy and certainly not from weakness; from detecting many emotions around me or on the screen or in books, and not just grief. Often from joy, beauty, the miracles of life or from sensing love around me through subtle evidence. I don't interpret anything "real" about a man who won't cry. To lack empathy is lower-order, beast-like. How is that real? Empathy is a hallmark of the evolved human and tragically marginalized in the ruling structures of our broken society.
ReplyDeleteWriter Guy, yes the tears of empathy, understanding, relating--I think you've explained this all very well. I never blubber or cry out of helplessness, but the tears are connected with my thoughts and my interpretations of things my mind is experiencing or remembering.
DeleteExcellent comment!
Lee
I do in fact cry when I watch an emotionally lade film (by myself), and whenever I read an emotionally charged/poignant chapter from a book/article.
ReplyDeleteFather Nature's Corner
GB, yeah, I don't make a big deal about it so I don't think anyone would notice when I do it, but it happens to me the same way.
DeleteLee