Becoming Stronger

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How would you define the word "strong"?

Look it up in a dictionary, or just Google it and see how many definitions there are, how many different kinds of strength there can be.

Synonyms include powerful, athletic, tough, intense, forceful, compelling, influential, passionate, deep-seated, secure, indestructible, tenacious, vivid, concentrated, and extreme.

In general we associate strength with muscles. Muscles are strengthened as muscle fibers that are damaged through use are fused together to form new, thicker strands. In other words, muscles are strengthened when they are used and challenged. When muscles are not used for extended periods of time, they atrophy, or waste away. The mind, like a muscle, must also be used to be strengthened and to avoid atrophy.

Peter at 3 months
People need to be strong physically and mentally to survive all the challenges we face in this life. Luckily, we seem to be born knowing this instinctively. As infants we kick and squirm and push, using our muscles and gradually gaining strength until we can lift our heads by ourselves. And then we work to be able to roll over. Then we learn to crawl, and pull ourselves up on things. We don't take set backs personally. If we fall, we might cry, we might get frustrated, but we don't give up. We get back up and try again. Every time. And then, before we know it we are walking. All this time we are also developing our mental strength, and shortly after we learn to walk we learn to talk and from there we learn a million other things we need to know to deal with the challenges life throws at us. We are born knowing how to become strong.

There are times and situations when I feel strong. There are times when I feel confident in my power to deal with the situation at hand. There are also times - like Tuesday after Steven's accident and my trip to the dentist, when I felt very, very vulnerable and weak. I felt like a wet noodle emotionally. I felt like I had spent a long day hiking a tall emotional mountain and my mental legs were jelly and and I never wanted to walk again.

But this morning as I was enjoying a nice very long (physical) walk, I got to thinking. Tuesday's experience was a challenge, a trial, a type of workout. Friedrich Nietzsche said, "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger." Maybe next time I face a day like that, it will be easier because I endured this one. Maybe other trips to the dentist will seem easier in comparison. Maybe I will have more compassion and understanding when others are having a bad day and are feeling emotionally brittle. Maybe there is something from this experience that I can carry with me that will make me a better person, so I can progress from walking to flying, so I can be stronger in the future.

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