Tears for the Tears

What a crazy language we have! The words at the beginning and the end of this title are spelled the same but are pronounced differently. One is spoken in a way that rhymes with “fears” and the other sounds like “bears” (although that’s a tricky word too!). And the two words have different meanings. We know this because we’ve all likely shed tears over the tears that happen in our lives.

Relationships rip. Bonds break. Death disrupts. Employment erupts. Stability shatters. The fragile fabric of our lives is torn apart and often we see no hope of its mending. We weep and weary of our tears, wondering if they will ever come to an end. We try this and we turn to that, but little lessens the pain or offers remedy for what has altered our existence in a manner we never would have chosen for ourselves.

According to studies, nearly ten percent of adults in the United States struggle with depression. While research indicates that suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents have declined slightly in recent years, the numbers are nevertheless staggering: nearly one in every ten teens has contemplated fatal action with seven hundred thousand following through with an attempt. It is estimated that over forty percent of this country’s population will be diagnosed with some type of cancer within this calendar year, a statistic fueled by an aging populace along with the discovery of previously unknown forms of cancer. Lacing this bowl of strained and shredded humanity is the reality that approximately ten thousand lives each year are taken by gunfire and that natural disasters are escalating… a most unappealing muck! It is little wonder that tears are our response to such tears in our lives!

The human body, amazing vessel that it is, is not designed to continue to live past a certain point or to withstand certain hazards to its health. Medicine can mitigate. Doctors can diminish. Care can curtail. But there is no protective bubble in which we may live that can ultimately fend off forces beyond our control with the dreadful power to rend our wonderfully woven worlds apart. And while scientists affirm that some of our tears have beneficial side effects, we might prefer a bottle of eye drops over an unexpected tragedy or unanticipated diagnosis. Can we embrace an existence scarred by feeble attempts to stitch up what has been torn and piece together what has been shattered? Might we bind ourselves to others who harbor the same fears and weep similar tears so that another may bear with us that pain of what tears the fragile fabric of every human life?