Strength NOT Weakness

Confronting our feelings and giving them appropriate expression always takes strength, not weakness….It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it. - Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”)

We live in a world which often tells us to ‘buck up’, to ‘pull ourselves up by your own bootstraps’, or to ‘grow up’ when life gets rough and we are feeling knocked down. Too often the world tells us to value independence, self-reliance, and stoicism in moments of weakness and vulnerability. Too often the overemphasis on those values deny us of the very real need to share and seek support when we need it the most.

When we feel the freedom to share and are enabled to give appropriate expression to our feelings and needs we are truly showing strength and receiving strength. We are not meant to harbor and shoulder (alone) much of what we are burdened with each day. It is a very counter-cultural concept to seek out others when we feel weak and vulnerable. But it is not healthy to be all alone in our struggles and to be isolated in our pain. When we can learn to discipline ourselves to reach out instead of going internal with our feelings when life is hard we will find more strength, more answers, more hope, and more comfort.

We all are challenged with burdens in life. It is in connecting through our common struggles that we find the ability to overcome the challenges that come our way.