thoughts on strength
how do we define adversity? what makes a situation difficult for us? 'difficulty' is relative, after all, and how difficult a situation is depends on how able we are to deal with it. strength, then, is what it boils down to (as swami vivekananda also says). if we are strong enough, there is no adversity. if we are strong enough, we deal with every situation as it comes, and give to it what it demands of us. we no longer need excuses, nor take shortcuts. and we find it in ourselves to be who we wish to be. strength is all it takes.
but this is still abstract, thought-provoking at best. what does it mean for me, i wonder, to be strong? what does it mean for me to find a situation difficult? are we born with strength? does it come to us slowly? do we need to cultivate it, and how may we do so? over time, i have found that strength does grow as life goes on. consciously or otherwise, we must make the choice to be strong. to give a simple example - i remember times (um, 24 years of my life) that i was unable to run 0.4km at a stretch. there came a time when i was able to run 42. and it was not the body alone that grew in strength. in fact, not at all. it was the mind that did that running, the mind that pushed the legs one by one. that was difficult. and then there was strength.
vivekananda says to be brave and sincere. so does every wise, experienced person, in fact, i would imagine. what does that really mean? the way i see it, to be brave is to be strong in the mind, and to be sincere is to be strong in the heart. our heart must - in its wisdom and maturity - dictate to us who it wishes us to be, and our mind must do the needful - help us realize that dream. my heart, for instance, tells me to give of myself selflessly. in every situation, to every human being. it is the mind, then, that can drive me to be strong enough to realize that goal. it will not happen in a day, a year, or a lifetime even perhaps. but slowly, steadily, more strength will come. this strength will allow me to be the person i wish to be. i have only to believe that strength can and does grow, and merely out of choice. can there be anything more empowering than that?
and then, we are all weak in varying degrees. or rather, we are all strong in varying degrees :). and yet, few of us are strong as we would like to be. often, we face conflicts in relation with others, and we blame them for being weak. and in those times, we should wonder, are we not weak as well, though in different ways perhaps? how are we then to judge another for their weakness? is there a scale for judging weaknesses? and who are we to judge, if even there is? again, i am reminded of the left-hand/right-hand analogy.
it is important always to keep in mind that we, each of us, try to address every life situation in the best way that we can. i don't think we always do the best we can, for we may consider ourselves weak when really we could be strong if we chose to be. yet, i do believe that we try. and as long as i try and you try, we all try to do the best we can, how can any of us fault another for not actually 'doing' it? ability levels are never easy to determine. and at the end of the day, patience is required of all of us.
and so one must never tell another, "look how difficult my situation is. yours is so much better. get over it." because it is to each his own. perhaps we have different amounts of strength in a particular circumstance, and if my strength happens to be less, i will find that situation more challenging than you - regardless of how much harder you have it.
these are my thoughts on strength right now. haphazard, but i wanted to put them down. strength, to me, is everything. without strength, there is no love, only want. there is no calm, only chaos. no knowledge, only ignorance. no sense, only madness. my mind allows me to collect knowledge, cogitate, question, understand. strength alone allows personal and spiritual growth, allows change, acceptance and surrender. thus, i pray:
but this is still abstract, thought-provoking at best. what does it mean for me, i wonder, to be strong? what does it mean for me to find a situation difficult? are we born with strength? does it come to us slowly? do we need to cultivate it, and how may we do so? over time, i have found that strength does grow as life goes on. consciously or otherwise, we must make the choice to be strong. to give a simple example - i remember times (um, 24 years of my life) that i was unable to run 0.4km at a stretch. there came a time when i was able to run 42. and it was not the body alone that grew in strength. in fact, not at all. it was the mind that did that running, the mind that pushed the legs one by one. that was difficult. and then there was strength.
vivekananda says to be brave and sincere. so does every wise, experienced person, in fact, i would imagine. what does that really mean? the way i see it, to be brave is to be strong in the mind, and to be sincere is to be strong in the heart. our heart must - in its wisdom and maturity - dictate to us who it wishes us to be, and our mind must do the needful - help us realize that dream. my heart, for instance, tells me to give of myself selflessly. in every situation, to every human being. it is the mind, then, that can drive me to be strong enough to realize that goal. it will not happen in a day, a year, or a lifetime even perhaps. but slowly, steadily, more strength will come. this strength will allow me to be the person i wish to be. i have only to believe that strength can and does grow, and merely out of choice. can there be anything more empowering than that?
and then, we are all weak in varying degrees. or rather, we are all strong in varying degrees :). and yet, few of us are strong as we would like to be. often, we face conflicts in relation with others, and we blame them for being weak. and in those times, we should wonder, are we not weak as well, though in different ways perhaps? how are we then to judge another for their weakness? is there a scale for judging weaknesses? and who are we to judge, if even there is? again, i am reminded of the left-hand/right-hand analogy.
it is important always to keep in mind that we, each of us, try to address every life situation in the best way that we can. i don't think we always do the best we can, for we may consider ourselves weak when really we could be strong if we chose to be. yet, i do believe that we try. and as long as i try and you try, we all try to do the best we can, how can any of us fault another for not actually 'doing' it? ability levels are never easy to determine. and at the end of the day, patience is required of all of us.
and so one must never tell another, "look how difficult my situation is. yours is so much better. get over it." because it is to each his own. perhaps we have different amounts of strength in a particular circumstance, and if my strength happens to be less, i will find that situation more challenging than you - regardless of how much harder you have it.
these are my thoughts on strength right now. haphazard, but i wanted to put them down. strength, to me, is everything. without strength, there is no love, only want. there is no calm, only chaos. no knowledge, only ignorance. no sense, only madness. my mind allows me to collect knowledge, cogitate, question, understand. strength alone allows personal and spiritual growth, allows change, acceptance and surrender. thus, i pray:
itni shakti hamein dena daata
man ka vishwaas kamzor ho na
hum chalein nek raste pe humse
bhool kar bhi koi bhool ho na
[oh lord, grant us the strength
that our faith may not weaken
that we walk on the path of goodness
that, even in forgetfulness, we make no mistakes]
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