You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: A Little Valentine's Day Miracle: Add to that an Easter miracle, Part Two
Interesting. Our families are sounding more and more alike.
I'm about the same age as Lori, and like her, have never grown up, and have no intention of ever doing so. I am at one with my inner GIR. ;-) And yes, I get along great with babies, kids and animals, and always have.
And, naturally, I had no trouble reading any of the cursive notes. My sister Carol described her own handwriting as horrible, and for years, only my mom and I could read it.
And Stoic. Generations of us. No crying . . . check. At our best in adversity, and wait until it's all over to fall apart . . . entirely in private. Yup.
Sending well wishes for you and yours with sincere hopes that all rally and remain well and happy for many years to come.
Take care,
Cori
Wow, you're from such a musical family (music, expressive, don't they go hand in hand?) - and yet, you too: Stoic. Generations of us. No crying . . . check. At our best in adversity, and wait until it's all over to fall apart . . . entirely in private. Even our mother never let us see her cry when our oldest sister was murdered. Why? I'll never understand.
Yes, I agree, creative expression tends to come out in multiple ways in most of us . . . writing, art, music and more. Mostly using similar thought patterns and parts of the brain.
The Stoicism is something else, in so many cases, a defense mechanism of generations of women (and many men) who perceived any sort of emotional display as weakness; and of particular import for women whose men were absent for whatever reason, whether they were away at war, gone on business, abandoned the family, dead, or physically incapacitated.
So many of these women were the mom AND dad in their families, at least part of the time, had to rely on their own strength and wits, and had to be perceived as strong by others, soas not to be taken advantage of or even preyed upon by others.
And even today, though our lives are comparatively far easier by comparison with our ancestors, by any real measure, the family/cultural dynamic of Stoicism lives on, even when it has long outlived its usefulness.
I'm no longer nearly the Stoic I was when I was young. After Ted died, I cried at the drop of a hat for a long while, and I still cry far more easily than I did before.
But I have also come to realize that crying actually does serve a vital physical purpose, in allowing us to not only relieve stress, but rid our bodies of numerous chemical toxins, so I no longer attempt to stem the flow, though I may excuse myself and choose to do so away from others. It depends upon my trust level with those I'm with at the time.
And, happily, I never did buy into the idea that crying was a weakness. Being true to our inner selves, including honoring our emotions, is a major source of strength, whether people realize it or not.