fumbling through

about five years ago, I was in a video store with someone i was dating at that time, and we were picking out a movie for the evening. I asked:"So... what kind of movie do you feel like tonight?", and she replied "Something that will make me cry..." It seemed like an odd goal to have for the night...to cry. and so i logically replied, "Why in world would you want to cry? sounds kinda depressing...". and then she gave me a really short answer which i have never been able to forget since. She said "because if it makes you cry, its gotta be good. don't you think?" I had never thought about it in that way before, so i just sort fumbled through some sort of a "i guess" response.

Its true though isn't it? Wise words for a 19 year old i think. Well, these days she's 24, graduated university and working and living up life. We're not in touch anymore, but those words have still kept its life, even as the friendship has so obviously fizzled. It still is a bit of paradigm shift for me. maybe when something makes us cry, or makes us feel anything at all is always a good thing. Good not because it somehow just speaks into our lives, but good as in it gives us an opportunity to express how we feel. Much like fine arts can do for some people. In today's context, emotion and expression are often considered to be a bit of a taboo activity. Thank God for stories that remind us that we aren't emotionally-bereft robots, but people who were made to feel and express.