Strength

We’re obsessed with strength. It defines us as individuals. The ways in which we are uniquely capable, our ability to recover from adversity and overcome future challenges. It’s what we look for in ourselves, our partners, our jobs and lifestyles. Strength forms the cornerstone of how we see ourselves.

And yet, allow yourself to be defined by your obsession. Architect your life around that same obsession, surrounding yourself with others who share the same, find a job which allows you to partake of it. Let an obsession become the cornerstone of who you are – you’ll quickly find yourself recoiling from the idea, cognizant of the risks such a fixation bring.

So why is it that we turn a blind eye when it is strength?

Every life has its demons, its hardships, the darkness which skitters up your spine in the early hours of dawn. We seek to stare into the abyss without blinking, many of us seek out the swirling ink of instability, seeking to prove ourselves. We do not trust those who have lofted through life on wings unburdened by the grey mass of reality, believing ourselves to be better for having tasted the dirt.

We choose to craft a persona on the foundation of our scars, each blinding us to the truth of who we really are. In seeking to atone for never being good enough, we encourage others to treat us as worthless; in our quest to never lose the security afforded by someone who loves us, we push others away in favour of money and power.

We build barbed monuments to our strength and scream at the injustice of our self-inflicted impaling upon them.

We are not defined by our strength, only the way we choose to etch the tapestry of life around us, the way it interleaves with others.