Tears come without permission. They arrive in sorrow, joy, awe, and fear, speaking a language beyond words. They reveal our deepest connections—to life, to loss, to one another. When we weep, we acknowledge something beyond our control. We recognize suffering, beauty, and the limits of our power. Tears strip away pretense. They remind us that we are not separate from the world’s pain or its wonder. In our tears, we see with clarity—without anger, without illusion. The sympathy that wells up when we weep can be life changing, too, drawing us out of ourselves and into communion with those around us. To weep is to accept what is, rather than force what we wish to be. This is not weakness but deep engagement. Tears move us beyond judgment and into compassion, shaping us into people who feel, who care, who remain open.
May our tears open us to compassion,
drawing us into deeper communion with all that is.
(inspired by Richard Rohr, The Tears of Things)