Laugh:
1. To express certain emotions, especially mirth or delight, by a series of spontaneous, usually unarticulated sounds often accompanied by corresponding facial and bodily movements
2. To show or feel amusement or good humor
3. To feel a triumphant or exultant sense of well-being
Cry:
1. To sob or shed tears because of grief, sorrow, or pain
2. To make a loud utterance of an emotion, such as fear, anger, or despair
3. To weep
Although these actions are quite opposite in theory, the commonality I see between calls for praise to be given to the Creator. Recently, I have found myself responding to the crevasses of my soul with either a bubbling resonation of sound or an overwhelming ocean of teardrops. Both remind me of how human I am, and at the same time, how very spiritual I am as well. Although both put a stutter in my step, they bring me a sense of meaning and purpose. They connect my soul with that of another. No matter how brief or impersonal the relationship between those of us laughing, in that instant we are united. We are closer than we were before just for sharing that glimpse of Sonshine together. Further still, it is in the midst of anxiety and sorrow that I realize the depth by which I am connected to the soul over which I cry. Yet oddly enough it is when the rain of my heart pours over my cheeks that I feel the most disconnected from that very person.
Now upon face value it sounds as if I am losing it, but I am not. Why? ... Because out of all of these contradictions, both my laughter and tears affirm the value of life….with all it’s complexity, with all of its and/or(s). It is at the origin of these two emotional responses that I experience the reason for living, to LOVE….both the journey and the people in it. For I believe that our earthly experience would be a canvas of gray…not even a black and white sketch, for the color distinction signifies something more brilliant than the meaningless fog of gray. What I mean is….without laughter and tears to remind us how valuable each encounter with another thinking… breathing… hoping individual is, would we understand the depth of Christ’s sacrifice? So for me, it is through my laughter and tears that the color of life is revealed at its true brilliance. I mean, do you not think the Savior fully experienced the value of humanity prior, during, before, and after His death? Really, didn’t he once laugh with those who the tears of heaven wept for that day? Furthermore, would He have experienced the intensity of the anguish He did had He not recognized the loss He felt as the Father turned away?
He knew what He was missing…what we were missing (perfect communion with the FATHER!
So crazy to think that without the laughter, the tears might not hurt as badly. However, if there was only ever laughter…I might not experience His strength in my weakness…I might take for granted those most dear… for my tears reveal the depth of my love.
To laugh and to cry: divided in theory yet united in love. I will strive for love unconditional…in which there is sunshine after the rain… where laughter and tears perform a beautiful dance under the rainbow created by both sunlight and precipitation…partners in need of one another in order for me to experience true reality!
