Embrace Your Tears

Do you usually try to stop your tears?
Does it feel terribly uncomfortable—even shameful?
Does an automatic switch flip, barely noticed?
Maybe you hold your breath, clench your teeth, tighten your abdomen.
Too bad.
Because breaking down and surrendering to feeling can be a real gift.
First, there’s the cleansing effect. You know this one, right? After a strong, honest cry—there’s gulping, heaving, then a deep, shaky breath. You blow your nose hard. Sloppy, wet, and finally… settling.
Remember that feeling of coming back as someone slightly different?
Something has moved through you. Like any good storm, the clouds clear.
You’re more open, more receptive.
Something old may have cracked, melted, or slipped away.
You see with new eyes.
Flow is restored.
Just like in fairy tales, a single tear can transform.
The healing waters irrigate and nourish your inner world.
You are softer.
Ever notice how help comes only after the princess weeps or sings her sorrow? That’s no accident.
It reflects how our own inner “savior” appears when we allow ourselves to fully feel.
When the tears come, a dam breaks—and help follows.
In The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen, the princess Elisa endures great suffering in silence. But in the final moment, her voice—her sorrow made audible—releases the truth and saves her brothers.
Even when tears don’t bring a dramatic resolution, something still shifts.
Your humanity is acknowledged.
Your internal drama finds a stage.
Some small consolation is earned.
The liquid of feeling softens what was parched and rigid.
You drink.