Crying is a natural human reaction to just about any stimulus. The sad part is, our society claims crying for any reason is weakness; it makes you ugly and unworthy. They couldn't be more wrong. The shortest verse in the entire Bible is simply two words:

Jesus wept (John 11:35).

Jesus, the Lord and Savior of all of us, wept. He cried and we have every right to do it too.

13. Anger

Sometimes anger doesn't come out blazing hot and physical. It can be a drowning process in which emotions cascade over our cheeks. Anger is a perfectly normal emotion, see Pixar's "Inside Out." Anger is perception of injustice, of wrongdoing, and a desire to correct it. Crying from said anger often implies the hurt behind the anger, the outrage at being harmed probably by someone you once trusted.

12. Fear

Fear is often described as icy, essentially paralyzing. Sometimes people begin to shake or flee. Sometimes, more often than we think, they cry. Fear, like Anger in "Inside Out," is a natural human emotion. It is the perception of danger and that elicits the famed fight or flight response. I personally think there's a third option: freezing. No matter which response is brought out, tears can follow because we do not have control in this situation and we fear possible pain we could experience.

11. Anxiety

Now this is a bit tricky one. Anxiety is a often difficult to explain, even by those who experience it on a chronic level. In a way, it is a type of fear but more so a nervousness or apprehension. Usually this is caused by a looming event we're worrying over or are nervous about. At the chronic level, the stimulus or cause for the apprehension is oftentimes unknown. I think the fear of the unknown could drives us to tears, we're not in control, or we simply don't know and that is terrifying.

10. Confusion

Confusion, like anxiety, is a case of not knowing but more specifically not understanding. It is no longer a looming event but rather something we're experiencing that just doesn't make sense. Life is so immeasurably complicated and there is no way we could ever understand it all but in our attempts to do so we find the confusion unraveling. But there can be a peace about not knowing because it takes the pressure off of us to have all the right answers. Sure we should seek them, but it is not our job to know everything quite simply because we can.

9. Frustration

This one is a common occurance for me. Frustration is sort of the hot-blooded confusion, with a bit more direction. "Why is nothing going right? Why isn't this working?" It's so easy to get caught up in the minor details of an issue or project we lose sight of the bigger picture. Normally, one way to combat frustration is to first get out all the tears and then take a deep breath, take a step back, and try again, maybe this time from a different angle.

8. Pain

Most of the aforementioned incidents where crying is okay have been more of an internal struggle and outpouring. But pain manifests itself in both the emotional, mental and physical ways. All three can elicit pain. Mental and emotional pain are often more complex and have other categories, so we'll focus on the physical aspect. Pain demands to be felt and when you break a bone or your appendix is ruptured or you even go into labor, go ahead and cry because it hurts.

7. Failure

Here we come to an interesting one. Failure is something our society looks on with such contempt, but failure is how we learn. Failing doesn't make us failures, rather it gives us the opportunity to realize we can't take on the world alone and we need help. But failure can be so disheartening and like frustration, feel it. Don't bottle it up. Have a good cry and then pray for help and guidance.

6. Loss

Loss is probably one of the hardest parts of life we experience. Loss is rather ambiguous title so we're going to leave out some of the bigger areas like death and heartbreak, for another point. We'll focus more along the lines moving away from family and friends, losing a job, and such losses of similar natures. It is incredibly difficult to have something or someone taken away from us by circumstance. We must remember there are things in this world that will never leave us. But it doesn't mean we cannot mourn and miss the things that do.

5. Heartbreak

One of the worst forms of emotional pain, the dreaded heartache. The fear of such heartbreak sometimes keeps people from falling in love at all. This kind of pain is important. It shows us what real love is like because we can't truly lose that, it has been given to us by God, who is the embodiment of love itself. So the loss of love hits us really hard. So eat a ton of ice cream and watch sad movies.

4. Death

Here is where loss is at its worst. We've been truly separated from someone we care about with no hope of seeing them again here on earth. There is a chance we'll be reunited with them in Heaven, so that can be a comfort. Still, it does not make the time between and their absence any easier. It's okay to miss them.

3. Relief

Crying and tears do not only stem from what we would deem as 'bad' situations' or hard times. They're not always from pain or fear or stress. Sometimes tears come from relief. One example of this is when a soldier comes home to their family, safe and sound from danger. Or maybe you were really worried about an exam but managed to do well and pass your class. Hence, tears, good ones though.

2. Laughter

This is probably one of my favorite times to cry, from laughing so hard. Sometimes weird and goofy accidents happen or your friend tells a rather witty joke or your roommate does some crazy dance moves at some odd hour of the night. This fun can cause such bouts of laughter that we can't help but let the tears fall. It is most definitely okay to cry at this point.

1. Joy

Last, but most certainly not least, we have probably but the best reason to cry...joy. Unadulterated joy and peace brought on by finding or seeing the good in the situation. One of my favorite examples of this emotional state is when a brand new parent holds their newborn child for the first time. When our hearts are so full it flows down our cheeks.

To cry is to be human and there is absolutely no shame in that.

"Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive." -Charlotte Bronte