Wow! I saw a grown man cry on TV and he was not ashamed to do so. While spending a lazy Sunday afternoon at my parent’s house catching up on OWN’s “Flex and Shanice”, one of my favorite reality shows, (that I’m actually proud to say I watch), comedian/actor Flex broke down in tears in a display of humble gratitude toward the landlord who allowed his wife and he to catch up on months of past due rent. I don’t know why it struck me so, but it did, and strangely in a good way. His tears were therapeutic for me, and I didn’t have a thing to do with his family’s breakthrough.

I pressed pause on the television to peck out this post because seeing him shed tears on national TV was so cleansing, encouraging and so courageous.  I can not imagine what the last several years had been like for their family as they faced foreclosure, loss of income, loss of jobs, loss of cars, and the humiliation often served up from the public (or even that which is self-inflicted). I can’t imagine now sharing that journey each week with adoring fans like me to watch, and unfortunately for some to critique, but they do it. So to see the simple, few minutes worth of honest, exchange between the forgiving landlord, a humble man and his supportive wife was a reminder of a few things to me:

• There are good, kind, and gracious people still in this world.
• People can’t help if we don’t let them know the help needed.
• No matter how bad things may seem they do get better.
• What we go through is not about us, but for others.
• Crying doesn’t mean we’re weak. It means we’re bold enough to release so we can receive whatever it is we’re in need of.
• We all need to have the courage to cry…whether it be through a beautiful, grace-filled display of eye sprinkles, or be it one of those old-fashioned, puffy-eyed, stained-cheeks, quivering, turned down lip, flowing fountains of face altering, salty liquid also known as an “ugly cry”.

I read somewhere recently that it’s okay to cry a river, just be sure to build a bridge so you can get over it. So go ahead, if you need to, let it flow.

@AngelaMMoore316