I ALWAYS cry whenever I visit art museums. I really can’t help it. Honestly, I find it awkward and absurd sometimes when the waterworks come but I cannot, for the life of me, control it. Whenever I see what I consider good art, I just lose all sense of decorum and cry like a baby in public, much to the surprise of the unsuspecting people surrounding me.
I have pretty much cried in every single museum I have been to--from our very own National Museum in Manila (Think Spoliarium, Amorsolo and Botong Francisco for starters. OMG) to the Louvre (the Greek sculpture of the Nike of Samothrace reduced me to a crying mess) to the museums in Los Angeles that housed, masterpieces by Degas, Rothko, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Murakami, Basquiat, Matisse, Pollock to name a few and the MoMA in New York where I cried unabashedly while standing before Van Gogh’s Starry Night all alone with the painting’s guard ‘til the museum’s closing time.
I am moved by themes, shapes and colors that I feel my heart beating faster, feel a lump growing in my throat and start hyperventilating like a schoolgirl seeing her secret crush! That rush of happiness and excitement makes laughter seemed inadequate to fully express my joy that I just need to cry!
There are places, faces and things that move us. Art is one of mine, along with those emotional commercials and acts of kindness caught on video and posted on social media or acknowledged in my favorite shows on television. Of course, we are moved by sadness and desolation too but those require action like offering prayers and support as they would most likely require help right?
With happy things and places, the tears are an extension of our glee, like laughter from our soul. These move us and inspire us to explore outside our comfort zone, discover new things and try a little harder at being better versions of ourselves. It encourages us to be more mindful of others, to appreciate what we have and to admire the world we live in and to make it better for future generations.
I hope you often find things that move you and do so continuously to inspire you to keep going. I hope such discoveries spark joy and become the impetus for you to do things for the first time bravely. These clearly mean something to you and may sometimes come aa a surprise but should in the end, allow you learn more about yourself, which is a good thing, don’t you think?
Happy Sunday Everyone! :)