When we really look at strength
what is it that we see?
A strong man does not complain
when his back is aching.
A strong woman does not cry
when her heart is breaking.
Strength lies in stoicism,
the trait of not showing pain
or any other emotion,
frankly.
But strong or weak, we are all humans;
we cannot go around being deeply hurt
and never showing a single bruise
or a single cut
or a single scrape
or a single break
or a single tear.
We were not made for such hideous untruthfulness.
We were not made to completely mask ourselves
and what we’ve suffered through
because when you mask your experiences
you mask your history
you mask your identity as a human
and as a human
it is simply impossible to be truly stoic
and still retain strength of the soul
which may be the most important strength of all.
So the solution is thus:
do away with pain
and anger
and sadness
and bitterness
and fear
and hate
and vengeance
and injustice
and disloyalty
and envy
entirely.
But without those, how can one know their counterparts?
Light cannot exist without dark
and good cannot exist without evil, and
under true stoicism,
comfort
and acceptance
and joy
and forgiveness
and bravery
and love
and passiveness
and integrity
and devotion
and altruism
cannot exist.
Stoicism, therefore, is the lack of emotion
and therefore so is strength.
He told me to stay strong
and I told him I didn’t want to be strong
if it meant I wouldn’t be capable
of loving him.
He told me that it is possible to be strong
without sacrificing your heart
but he did not understand
for he had never tried to be truly strong
for he had never thought about the nature of true strength
for he had never needed to be truly strong
and he was only saying weak words
from a weak man
to comfort my weak heart.