The many paths of tears


                                               tuesday 23rd august 2011
THE MANY PATHS OF TEARS….
Scientifically:
When emotion affects us, it stimulates the cranial nerve in the brain and this sends signals to the neurons. The presence of androids in the dendrites of neurons increases the electronic activity in the medulla oblongata which results in production of cryolin that in turn catalyses the production of excess saline which is then pumped out through the eyes as a brain response mechanism for homeostasis. Emotional tears differ from scientific lubricant tears in that they contain a higher percentage of adrenonorticotropic hormone and leucine enkephalin that is a natural pain killer.
   The lumbic system, specifically the hypothalamus has a degree of control over the autonomic system. The parasympathetic branch of the autonomic system controls the lucramal glands via the neurotransmitter acetyl-choline through both the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. When these receptors are activated, the lacrinal gland is stimulated to produce tears. The motor pathway is autonomic and in general uses the pathway of the seventh nerve in the parasympathetic division.
Emotionally:
When that one thing that you wanted so much doesn’t come when it should have, when you are too happy it’s almost as if you are walking on air, when you love someone so deeply you would give them your soul if they asked for it, only to find their heart belongs to another, when that one person that you thought would always be there is suddenly no more…you try to speak but somehow the words just won’t come out for one reason or another and yet they can’t last a second longer in your mouth, so you swallow them, only to have them slowly burn your  esophagus like pieces of bitter hot coal as they make their way to the pit of your stomach only to form a knot there, that won’t allow you to breathe regularly…so your breaths start to come in short gasps. Your spirit gives in and your strength is a thing of the past. A state of utter helplessness.                                                                                          When you give up all pretense of having it all together, of having it all figured out, accepting that you are weak, and that yes, even you need a hand every once in a while, when sadness so overwhelming it feels like you have been forced to carry  a heavy heavy blanket and your world is threatening to crush you, these same words are pushed up by the sheer weight of your despair filling up all the space in your abdomen, up past the opening that would have led them out through your mouth now filled incessantly with short breaths to the only part that seems to still be functioning and has the quickest access to the outside-your eyes. Here all the steam that has been gathering throughout the journey meets the cool surface of the eyeballs, condenses on contact. And then the downpour. Yes, after trying to hold it in for so long, you are now crying, finally….

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anything but ordinary

Image
As a writer, you pride yourself in the fact that you are able, on a higher level than the ordinary man, to put into words what exactly it is that you are feeling, what it is that you see, smell, hear, name it. Whether it is a terribly scrumptious heaped plate of spaghetti with a slightly orange tinge that tastes like ocean waves at sunset or a large tree with red and brown leaves that bends slightly to the right whenever the wind blows and has endless trails of tiny black insects harvesting sweet cold nectar up from its pale pink flowers down to its partially hidden roots...you get the picture. That was not the case with the writer’s retreat on Bulago Island over the Independence Day weekend.This retreat was organised by Jackee Batanda of SuccessSpark Brand and Nyana Kakooma of Sooo Many Stories. Don't let the fact that this was the first of it's kind fool you... Imagine a big orange house, with large glass windows that cover almost fifty percent of the walls. Imagine...
Read more

Soundtracks to the movie about my life

The people who get to make a movie on my life will be lucky bastards, if I do say so myself. It will definitely be a full color picture in HD that will break box office records and win some Oscars! It will give such an adrenaline rush and have people gripping the edges of their seats and re-thinking the way they are living; ‘filimu yamasasi’ basically! But the best part of that movie will be the soundtracks! 1.        Knowing you Jesus - Graham Kendrick I have been back and front, had some experiences that I thought were life changing. I have met some pretty incredible people and ticked impressive boxes on my ‘To-do list’, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING could ever compare to knowing Jesus the way that I have gotten to and continue to do. Everything that I am, every good thing that you think you may see in me, everything that I will ever be, will be because of God in my life. If this soundtrack is left out of the movie of my life, then it’s a lie...
Read more

Thoughts on a humid Sunday midnight

Images of you race across my mind, and then quickly run off to hide, like a shy girl from unknown guests. ‘It’s been long enough’, they say, but what do they know? How can they know when knowing was only ours? A narrow tarmac road, twisting slightly to the left as it slopes, only to straighten out and show the way home; home for a while, home forever; Home. Silence, friendly silence. All sounds combining at once to match the music in my head, or is it in my heart? A mouth with a wide smile, lips that tell of dreams long forgotten and yet coming alive once again, a heart with such kindness, hands that accept, embrace and give. Warmth from every pore. Hands that hold. Hands that work. Hands that lead, gentle hands. A gentle soul. Night lights, of every color; yellow, orange, blue, green; speed by like a man on a mission, a man blown away by strong winds that squeeze through small spaces looking for the quickest smoothest way out. Eyes that stare at the lights, eyes full...
Read more