***Tears

I cried today...and I cry frequently, truth be told. 

I have rules for my tears, of course. Like they're never ever to be indulged in if I'm:

 a.) feeling sorry for myself, 

b.) overwhelmed due to my own negligence or procrastination, and 

c.) if I'm only doing it because I think I should, rather than feel I should. 

Inversely, there are sort of Un-rules for tears too. Like I don't have to be able to put words to why I cry. Don't have to be able to label, explain, justify something into a tidy little therapy package with a "here's how this helped me" tag attached. Crying is good, and we do it for a reason; emotions exist for a purpose. But it's only good when it's real; when it's deep, and you can feel it burning in your face or throbbing in your chest or swelling in your throat. Or there's the peaceful tears that slip, drip, glide beautifully and serenely away from your eyes. When you can feel the sadness filling up your soul and brimming over in that most cherished expression of what's inside coming out. 

I suppose the simplest rules for tears are: don't ever make them if they're not there, and don't ever stop them if they're waiting. But do cry, dear.