Strength, it is one of the most ambiguous yet intriguing words in the dictionary. It spans across emotional and physical levels of all human beings. We gain strength from our core i.e. our heart or mind; we gain strength by observation or we gain strength by simply repeating the word in our head. We all have such different ways to gain strength. We tend to project being strong, at times so much that, we often end up getting lost in this word.
So what is STRENGTH? Is it self-control? Does it mean will power? Or does it mean being fearless? Does it mean showing your physical strength? This word has a different meaning for different people.
Giving birth to a baby is the strength of a mother;
Seeing your child on a hospital bed is the strength of a parent to remain calm;
Putting on a smiling face, despite all odds and without faltering in emotions, is the emotional strength of a person;
Saving an unknown danger is another aspect of strength and so on…
You will be surprised to know that vulnerability is strength too. It means that we have the right to break down, to learn and come up much stronger. These are different ways that people project strength… But are we ALL really strong? Do we all have a hidden strength within us?
The answer to this is “YES”.
We often don’t realize that the strength we have is the one that is already stored within us. Until we are faced with life altering situations, we do not understand the meaning of strength. Let me narrate a conversation –
A daughter asked her mother, ‘Mom what makes us strong?’
The Mom replied, ‘Darling, before I answer this question, let me ask you – What Do You perceive the word strong to be?’
The daughter promptly, in an almost enthusiastic way, replied- physical strength; ‘The way I can run fast in the races or complete my homework; that is being strong to me.’
The Mom, with a smiling face, told her that strong is meant to be both- physical as well as emotional. She went on to explain that a doctor has to be strong to see blood while treating his patients. Similarly, a teacher has to be mentally strong to be able to teach all of you in class, a wrestler has to have the physical strength to defeat his / her opponent and a bird has to be strong enough to fly high and escape the hunters. They all have their strength hidden within them but it is brought out only when the time demands it.
The daughter thought hard about it and asked her mom, ‘So, you mean to say I need to be physically strong to run and mentally strong to crack a test?’ Yes sort of, the mother replied, quite bemused.
The mother fueled the daughter’s curiosity by describing that we gain our strength from everyday things-
A bird building a nest tirelessly makes us strong to believe that we should never give up.
A spider weaving its beautiful web of pearls shows us how strong we are to actually fight all odds. A cyclist trudging through the deepest ravines makes us strong mentally and physically. It tells us that there is nothing in this world that we cannot conquer.
A mountaineer that climbs the highest peak gives us hope that we have the will to achieve.
There are many ways to embrace ‘strength’ from- your partner, your family member, your friend, an unknown person, an animal or the winds that never give up. We will discover our moment of truth and our time of strength when we are actually ready to face it.
Have you experienced anything in your life to make your as strong as you are now?
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