Cross-Sections of Life

Although genuine expressions of great emotion can taxing, such things as laughter and tears bring a depth to life that shouldn't be traded for invulnerability. This weekend, the two were mingled together into a crazy blend of joy and weeping, and though I'm exhausted, I'm better off for it. Far better off.

What is it about smiling that lifts the weight on one's shoulders while it lifts the corners of a mouth? And why do heaving sobs purge frustration so effectively?

These questions are not rhetorical, and the answer I suggest lies in the complex, beautiful way the human heart and soul and mind was handcrafted by the Creator. In the last 72 hours or so, I have shaken my fist in anger, snotted all over a friend's sleeve, laughed until my stomach cramped, smiled till my chin grew tired. I thank God for each of those moments of extremity. Like sweating as a natural cooling system, these things are the necessary and healthy outlet of feeling... feeling that gets pushed aside by the need to perform for classwork and whatever else might demand me to be on guard.

In letting the dams of happiness or misery really burst, we acknowledge a huge part of our humanity. Still more, we grab hold of the blessing of God-given feeling inherent to us. We grow and we change because we laugh and we cry. It's a snapshot of life, an arena of knowing, and (if we allow it to be) an insight into the creative and loving Father who knows us and gave everything so that we might walk in life abundant - with all its smiles and sniffs.