It's okay to be soft
The opposite of strong is not weak
It's okay to be soft
What looks like weakness is actually where your strength lies. And what looks like strength is often weakness, an attempt to cover up fear; this is an act or a facade, however convincing it might appear to others or even to yourself.
Jon Kabat-Zinn • Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
Not sure if I agree, but interesting perspective
what he discovered was that, in finally allowing himself to feel weak and helpless—totally helpless—he felt less helpless and more in control than ever. Strength is not the opposite of weakness. Real strength lies in the total embrace of weakness.
Jeff Foster • The Deepest Acceptance
Instead....as I started to picture the trees in the storm, the answer began to dawn on me. The trees in the storm don't try to stand up straight and tall and erect. They allow themselves to bend and to be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go. [...] Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and strai... See more
Julia Butterfly Hill | Are.na
From The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods by Julia Butterfly Hill
Another misconception about strength is it’s permanence. Life, in itself, isn’t constant. Moreover, the circumstances that call for strength are transient too. A person who has been emotionally strong in one situation could be extremely fragile in another situation. Isn’t it unfair on our part to make the assumption that strength is a state of mind... See more
Tahira Tahir • Strength is overrated
Another capture from this blog post, but there’s just a lot here I relate to and I’d love to unpack.
Strength is overrated. Emotional strength is often a… | by Tahira Tahir | Medium
How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.
Elizabeth Lesser • Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
Is it because change appears to threaten our survival?
The harsh truth is that emotional strength is often a necessity, not a choice. After all who wants to be thrown out into a storm and count “not screaming” as an achievement. Most of us grow up not wanting or imagining to be thrown into a storm in the first place. But when we face life’s toughest realities, emotional strength becomes essential for o... See more
Tahira Tahir • Strength is overrated
Reading this reminds me how I’ve very rarely chased chased strength in life. Growing up, strong people reminded me of those masculine figures in my life, family or friends, that made me feel insecure and less than. So becoming as strong as them was never the goal.
Strength is overrated. Emotional strength is often a… | by Tahira Tahir | Medium
As much as we glorify emotional strength, let’s just all accept that strength is on most times an obligation, not a choice. An obligation created by circumstances.
Tahira Tahir • Strength is overrated
Makes me think about being soft instead and what that means
Strength is overrated. Emotional strength is often a… | by Tahira Tahir | Medium