My muse (Patreon)

Kate

This recent visa news triggered a lot of different emotions in me. And I couldn’t name them. I truly didn’t understand what I was feeling. There were definitely tears - and they didn’t feel like happy ones. They felt like sadness.

That day I tested not only my own nervous system, but also my fiancé’s. We talked it through pretty quickly. But the emotional storm had already happened.

Then I watched a romantic movie - and cried during a touching scene. Then I cried again watching a video of my cousin dancing her graduation waltz.

And I started wondering…Is there actually a difference between tears of joy and tears of sadness?

When someone dies, it’s clearer. The emotional current is deeper, heavier, layered. But what about moments that simply move you? A rescued dog finally finding a home....A child crying because their parents didn’t give them candy.....The first kiss between two characters in a film....Personally, I have a long list of things that can make me cry.

But are those tears different?

I tried to analyze it. I searched my memory. I even tried to provoke “joy tears” and “sad tears” on purpose — just to compare.

And honestly… I couldn’t feel a difference.

So now I’m curious about you.

Maybe I just don’t fully experience the entire spectrum of emotions — I’ve struggled with that before. Or maybe there truly isn’t such a clear distinction, and we simply label the tears afterward, depending on what story we attach to them.

What do you think?