Yesterday during my meditation I unexpectedly found myself succumbing to the emotions that it invoked. The catharsis and clarity cultivated by a good cry was hugely powerful, and rather empowering. This doesn’t happen to me often (probably in part because I struggle to allow it to), so when it does I know it was very much needed! And for it I feel so much more balanced. (But, if I’m being very honest, maintaining that balance is an ongoing struggle.) I used to consider acknowledging and talking about my emotions as a weakness. I think in part due to society’s attribution of emotions (non-violent ones at least) as a ‘feminine’ quality. But now I realise just how unhealthy THAT is. I don’t want to define myself through labels of male/female, the use of such creating barriers and divisions socially, but also mentally and emotionally. I understand their use to provide ease in a general sense, but I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘typical’ man. For one example, being smaller than average I often find myself having to buy certain ‘women’s’ clothing - shoes/leggings/etc, and have been made to feel strange for doing so in the past, which wasn’t nice, and played with my head. But I'm trying to move beyond this, and now I really just consider myself first and foremost a human being - one who just happens to be ‘male’. Segregation incites disassociation. But we’re not separate - we’re unique expressions of the same thing. You are me and I am you, regardless of arbitrary labels. I think it’s important to remember this - to be able to see oneself in every other person (and non-person).