October 2026

Good morning, dear WPS Friends,

Enjoy your coffee with me on this wonderful cool a.m. I love this time of year sitting on my porch, watching the squirrels run up and down the trees chasing each other and the birds singing their morning songs. I feel such a sense of peace and gratitude for this amazing view that nature provides and at the same time, a sadness that the one I loved for so long cannot be here to enjoy it with me. In our grief journey it’s ok to have peace, gratitude and a sense of sadness at the same time.

Have you ever thought about your tears? Jennifer Stern wrote an article about “Tears” I would like to share some of its content.

Let your tears fall with pride, for they are not a sign of weak-ness or self-pity, but an authentic expression of sorrow. It takes great courage to feel your feelings, to express your feelings openly and honestly. Crying is not for the weak of heart. Crying expresses what few words can or never will. Our work in grief is to feel, express, to accept, to heal. Grief work takes guts, persistence, patience, self-compassion, and courage. Tears are the sweat of grief work.

It is not the job of the griever to make others comfortable with their expression of grief. To grieve is to actively feel and express sorrow. If your tears appear to make others uncom-fortable, calmly teach them about your tears. I cry because I grieve. I cry because I am profoundly sad over the loss of my loved one. I cry because life will be forever bittersweet. I cry because there are no words to adequately express how I am feeling. I cry because I am brave enough to face another day, to endure, to push forward, to live with grief in my heart. I cry to express, to relieve, to release.

A biochemist and “tear expert’ discovered that emotional tears have special health benefits. Reflex tears are 98% water while emotional tears also contain stress hormones that get excreted from the body through crying. Emotional tears relieve stress.

A good cry is cleansing, a way to purge pent up emotions. Crying stimulates the production of endorphins which are natu-ral pain blockers. So, let the tears fall and know that they are a powerful component of healing. Hugs!
Ruth Turner, Outreach Chair and Certified Grief Support Facilitator