Weakness

My father is in hospital again. Nothing major, thank goodness, but I always find it confronting and sad. A coworker asked how he was doing the other day. In relaying the latest news, my eyes welled up. Crying is often considered a sign of weakness. I have a different perspective. I believe weakness is avoiding the things in life that challenge you. I could have avoided the conversation (which may be have been considered rude). The person probing me is always looking for information. She does not mean to be insensitive but she is incapable of seeing that she is upsetting the person she is talking to.

I think strength comes from knowing what challenges you and proceeding anyway. Strength, to me, is facing adversity when you know there will be hurdles and doing so because it is the right thing to do. Strength is sometimes not achieved by holding on but by letting go. Sometimes the bigger battles are waged once you have changed your circumstances. In my limited experience, it is the weak that endure. The weak stay in abusive relationships because they are too scared to face the issues that will arise when they leave. The weak live their life pleasing others rather than chasing their unconventional dreams. It takes strength to break the mould; to do things differently.

Weakness is subjective. Strength is an inner quality, rarely seen by those looking from the outside. Strength comes from facing your fears and taking steps to change the way you do things in order to overcome those fears and truly live life.