CrySis Response
Who is this for?
Black cis women, Black trans women, Black femme folks, Black people who are gender non-conforming and any other Black person who finds the following reflections useful.
Description
The phrase CrySis Response is an emotional embrace for all Black women. It is a swift and soft answer to unrelenting questions, racialized critiques and unrealistic social pressures. CrySis boldly affirms that it is indeed alright to cry, sis. To cry when there is joy, pain, anger, confusion, disappointment and sadness. We embody a full range of human emotions and deserve to tap into the restorative/reflective power of our tears. CrySis is thus a personal and collective care practice as we survive structurally violent and socially stigmatizing crises each day.
Practices
- Cry To Understand: Tears talk and they leave evidence in our eyes. Each tear streaked serving as a story rooted in a reason. Crying is akin to awakening. A fresh understanding of the formerly unknown. A necessary acknowledgement of the presently unavoidable. May crying gift you with lessons that lessen the load of what you carry.
- Cry To Cleanse: Water can purify. When released, the tears we carry have the capacity to cleanse. Cleanse us of toxic energies and emotional build up. May your tears, those spiritual waters of immeasurable depth, become a readily available balm. May they form rivers of inner transparency that float you toward an ever-evolving freedom.
- Cry When You Need A Portal: A CrySis Response creates an entryway for truth, transition and transformation. May your cry transport you to a place where you can explore emotions and experience personal evolutions.
- Cry As Needed: Despite our most valiant efforts, not all crises will be averted. Consequently, it is alright to cry in jubilation when we make it through difficult times. To cry in sorrow when we are called yet again to surrender something or someone we love to unfair circumstances. May you discover reassurance and relief in the act of crying. May feelings of embarressment evaporate to reveal new revelations that offer clarity and comfort. May you cry with rigor and regularity.
- Cry As You Protect Your Privacy: Our pain is not performative. We retain the right to grieve without gawkers present. A preservation of privacy can create space for sadness to exist freely. May you find and conserve enough room to cry aloud. Or, in silence. Or, in song. Or, in dance. Or, in art. Or, in exercise. Or, ______. May you have access to being alone as you wish and in community as you need.
- Cry To Survive: Loss leaves its imprint on our lives, in our bodies and across our minds. Cry to celebrate your survival. Cry to commemorate everything and everyone who didn’t survive. Cry because your tears bare witness to all you’ve been through. Cry to call into existence all that you still wish to do. May your tears provide pause and purpose. May they serve and save you.
Justice Shorter 