"Tears are God’s gift to us. Our holy water. They heal us as they flow." ~Rita Schiano

My ten year old nephew’s birthday party was this week. About twenty kids, a mix of boys and girls ranging in age from two to fifteen. There was the traditional cake with candles, everyone clapping and singing “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...” until the last person gave up, the song never did quite finish the way it would have in Canada. He blew out the candles on his pink cake and everyone handed him his gifts. In India you place the gift from your right hand into the right hand of the recipient, it is not customary for the presents (on any occasion) to be opened, they are sat off to the side.

There were no chips or pop, the usual standards of junk food strategically placed around the home were nowhere to be found but the smell coming from the kitchen was heavenly. The food was served after nine at night as the culmination of the party. Indians take great pride in their cooking and often refuse to serve anything that is not homemade; we ate until we were ready to burst.

The children happily spent the better part of the party dancing along to the latest Bollywood music videos. The boys along with girls seemed to know every lyric and accompanying dance move. It was beyond adorable to watch, the freedom and enjoyment these young boys take in expressing themselves is something I have loved about this culture from my very first visit.

I think because of this freedom it has been my experience that Indian men are very much in touch with their emotions, they dance when the mood strikes and even more beautiful they feel and express all their emotions. The majority have never been told to that it’s not okay to cry, allowing themselves to cry when they are sad, even if it’s just while watching a sappy love story.

In Canada where boys are often told that it is not ok to cry, to toughen up, they learn to suppress their emotions early on. According to statistics Canada there is a heart attack every 7 minutes and heart disease accounts for thirty percent of all male deaths, here in India only 11% of the population is at risk. A spiritual perspective is that a heart attack happens when one can no longer feel the prompts of their heart center.

Every soul needs to find the right balance for them; personally I feel this comes with the ability to be tough enough to handle the perils of the world yet soft enough to feel the subtlest whispers of your heart, this may be the key to long lasting health and happiness.