a new yoga position for grievers

Yesterday’s April Fool’s cartoon Rob Bell Marries David Hayward was a successful attempt to give people permission to laugh in the light of Easter. Today’s cartoon is an attempt to give people permission to cry.

The shortest verse, and the most poignant in my opinion, is John 11: 35…

Jesus wept.

He lost a friend. His friends were upset and beside themselves. Death was staring them down.

As the cartoon suggests, crying is healthy. Sorrow is necessary. Grieving is natural. You can’t have happy without sad.

One of the most important things I do is provide space for people to feel. To just feel. To feel what they’re feeling. With no time constraints or behavioral expectations. And I am fiercely protective of these sacred spaces. This is how sadness gets processed in the most healthy way. We let the tears flow through us rather than dam up within us. Haven’t you experienced this before? You had a good cry and then said, “I needed that!” You did. You needed that.

Jesus wept. I wept.

Have you?