In April 2003,
Aron Rolston, an avid climber, wanted to explore a remote area in the Utah
desert. While climbing, a huge boulder
fell on him and pinned his forearm and hand to the rock wall. For five days, Rolston was trapped. He had a bottle of water and hardly any
food. He couldn’t move the boulder. He couldn’t chip away the boulder. He was stuck.
He made a
decision.
He cut off his
arm in order to free himself. That
decision might have cost him his arm, but it saved his life. He stated, “That was the moment I stepped out
of my grave and into my life. I don’t
regret losing my arm. It showed me what
was important in my life, what I’m capable of.”
What Is
Strength?
Viktor Frankl
wrote a fascinating book titled Man’s Search For Meaning. In it, he talks about the prisoners in Nazi
prison camps. He was fascinated that in
the midst of horror, of deprivation, of dehumanization, there were prisoners
who survived even though they were weak and ill. There were those who didn’t survive even
though by all appearances, they were strong and fit (as one could be in that
situation). Frankl couldn’t understand
how some prisoners survived when by all appearances and circumstances, they
shouldn’t have. He couldn’t understand
how some prisoners died when by all appearances and circumstances, they should
have.
What Is
Strength?
In previous
posts, I’ve written about perseverance, which to me is almost synonymous with
strength. I’ve written about love, about
hope, which to me, if expressed, takes a certain amount of courage. And, if you have courage, you have strength.
Strength is
taking one more step when you don’t have the courage, the stamina to move. It is taking one more step when you don’t
have a clear path to follow. It is
moving forward, perhaps even retreating, rather than standing still and
cowering.
Strength is
telling the truth when it is so very easy to lie. Strength is defending someone in the face of
strangers, in the face of foes, in the face of friends, when that someone is
being unjustifiably accused and wronged.
Strength is
believing when sometimes it appears that there isn’t seemingly anything to
believe in. Some call that faith. Strength is reaching out a hand to support,
to lift up, to comfort when you don’t know if you will be rejected or your hand
slapped away.
Strength is
admitting to yourself that you are wrong.
Strength is after admitting to yourself that you are wrong, making it up
to those around you who were affected by that wrongness. Strength is after admitting to others you
were wrong, accepting the ridicule of foe and friend with dignity, with
compassion, and perhaps, with silence.
Strength is
helping others find hope in impossible situations and circumstances. And Strength is offering, and accepting love
from those who are perhaps, unlovable.
What Is
Strength?
Strength is
something we need a lot more of. In
ourselves. In each other. Something to think
about . . .
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe