Agua de Vida

"Scientists catergorize the kinds of tears we cry both according to their purpose and to their chemical makeup. Basal tears are the tears that flow continuously to keep our eyes moist. Reflex tears are those that occur when something gets into our eyes and needs to be flushed out. Psychic tears, those that arise from an emotional response, have an entirely different chemical composition. They contain significantly more proteins, potassium, manganese, as well as hormones connected to our emotional state. There are some scientists who hypothesize that through the act of crying we are eliminating hormones and proteins that generate the feelings that created the sadness in the first place. There is a cleansing and renewing power to crying. Tears of compunction are those moments we cry with sorrow over our own woundedness. Beauty and moments of Grace also can move us to tears. The saints describe all of these as the grace of tears, a kind of living water that streams from our eyes in response to the most powerful moments of our lives."
-------"Water, Wind, Earth and Fire" by Christine Valters Paintner



“All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” Federico Fellini