's motd Sunday June 27, 2010

[Guest guest]

A GOOD CRY

Sunday, 27 June 2010

Okay, I'm the first to admit...I'm a cry baby. (There, I said it!) My mother and father raised me watching lots of the old classic movies. And I have to tell you, those Bette and Joan Crawford movies were often tearjerkers and I'd end up crying whenever I watched one of them. But it's not just the movies. As many of you know, I cry for a lot of reasons.

In my dressing room and in my gym, there are photos of my sweet Mom and Dad. And I often cry looking at the photos of them. Oh, I miss them so much. I mean, do you ever really get over the loss of your parents?I have photos all over my house of my Dalmatians, too. And sadly, seven of them are no longer with me. When I look at the photos of my babies...I sometimes end up crying as I think of all the wonderful times I had with them. And when I go down to the office to read my E-mail, some of them can also be real tearjerkers. I'm telling you, I can end up getting a little stressed as I read a lot of my mail. And when I get stressed like that, I often visit the garden in my backyard. While there, I sometimes just stare at my house and as I do, I count my blessings. I take the time to thank the Lord for having been so good to me over the years. I end up crying when I'm at Slimmons sometimes, too. See, there're many people who come to class down-in-the-dumps looking for a pick-me-up for their emotions. I hear their stories and when I do, I can really feel their pain. And that pain shows up in my tears.

When I'm out of town teaching class on the road, I meet people who really touch my heart. As I talk with them and they share their stories, we may end up crying together. And oh yes, I still watch those movies like I did when I was a kid. I sit there in front of the TV watching one of those old black & white films and, you guessed it, to this day, I still end up bawling my eyes out! (I keep a box of Kleenex in every room of my house.)Okay, what does being a "cry baby" say about me? Well, it says that I'm a sensitive person. (No one knows that about me better than you.) My emotions and my tear ducts are connected. And...so are yours.Some people have been taught that crying is a sign of "weakness". I don't agree. I know that some people feel uncomfortable when they're with someone who cries a lot. Why? Well, because they don't know what to do when someone else begins crying. They don't know how to handle the emotion.

I think that when you cry, you relieve some of the stresses in life through your tears. And if you don't cry, well, you hold those tears inside you and end up gaining weight. (LOL. Okay, I was only kidding!)But truthfully, if you hold all of your emotions and stress inside, without ever releasing them, all of that pent-up emotion can lead to psychological or even medical problems for you.Now you can relieve some of the stress in your life by say, boxing. Or maybe bungee-jumping is a good stress-reliever for you. (I can't see either of them working for me!) Hey, it was true when I was a kid and it's just as true for me today, a good cry always does the trick, uncorking that emotional valve and relieving the stress for me. Have you been stressed out lately? Yeah? So, when's the last time you relieved the stress by having yourself a good cry? Please, don't feel bad when you feel the need to cry. When the tears start flowing, (and that can be a good thing), I just hope you have a box of Kleenex around.Love,