Weakness..

Weakness…. is beautiful. I think it serves as a reminder that I’m doing an okay job at this whole life thing.. Maybe I’m not so self-absorbed in the awesomeness that lives in me to find a (sometimes uncomfortable) appreciation for the greatness in others as well. I’m learning that I can’t be so focused on me that I miss the amazing things that others have to say.

         I’m beginning to realize that being strong doesn’t mean that I never get weak. Weakness is merely an inevitable symptom of my strength. For example, thinking about my four (now finished) long years of high school and my relentless efforts when it came to succeeding in all I did – feeling tired at the end of the week was just an effect of how hard I worked (which I was very much rewarded for later in the form of scholarships and grants to my first-choice university). We call this tire “weakness,” but I think it’s really just a sign to recharge and begin again after some R&R. It’s simply the light on the dashboard turning on, signaling the driver (i.e. me) to relax for a little bit.. to figure out what’s going on, what I need to change, what I should probably improve in, what I’m doing really well in.. a total evaluation of my life. If everything were to go well all the time, how would we know something needed fixing? It’s like fighting through a pain in your arm — had you gotten it checked out earlier, it wouldn’t be broken now. Reflection is necessary, and this necessity becomes apparent when the feelings of weakness surface. I believe, however, that these feeling are gifts [just ones that I don’t feel I need at the time (but grow to appreciate later)].

Weakness..

..is an awareness of my character, and the knowledge of how beautiful a fragile heart really is.  A person might be called “weak,” if they can’t stand up to another because they don’t want to say something that they wouldn’t like to hear. A person might be labeled “weak,” if they don’t want to intimidate someone to receive something in return (think of a bribe gone wrong – Mr. “Weak” just couldn’t do what his boss wanted — blackmail -or some other creative form of corruption- the business guy). This leads into my belief that there is nothing wrong with caring too much. I wish people would realize that. Caring “too much” isn’t a bad thing. It makes you step down from your pedestal and gives you a chance to look around and set yourself on an equal level with others, even if everyone’s on a differently decorated mountain top. It lets you take time to look into another’s eyes and recognize how beautiful they are, both physically and on the inside.

Everyone is beautiful.
Everyone is weak.
Now if everyone would just recognize that,

we’d be strong enough to hold each other up when life tries to tear us down.

 

Weakness..

is strength.

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott (with commentary from PrettyNerd)

1.  You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.

2.  You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”

            And I hear the tuition is outrageous.

3.  There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”

            Yeah, no. Sometimes there are screwups. Big, big “uh ohs” – and some people never learn from them. They don’t want to learn from them. Silly people.

4.  Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.

              Agreed.

5.  Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.

               She must have finished listened to Carrie Underwood’s “Lessons Learned.” Here’s my problem. The title says “Ten RULES for being human.” Cherry hasn’t told us how to learn these lessons. Ugh. I hate unclear directions.

6.  “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”

             Lies. The problem here is our lack of satisfaction (for anything; not just “heres” or “theres”). If you learn to be satisfied with where the hell you are (see number 4), you can just go ahead and push this conundrum from your mind. Learn the lesson of satisfaction and this rule goes out the window.  

7.  Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

          This was so difficult for me to accept when it would happen to me.. It took me a long time to realize that I wasn’t especially fond of whoever because of the qualities s/he had that I just.. didn’t possess. Overcoming jealousy, I think, is a lifelong battle. I also have a theory that those who don’t struggle with it aren’t passionate enough about what (or who :) they love.

8.  What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

          Yay for Cherie for making such an awesome list. Here’s my problem: tell “you have all the tools and resources you need” to a kid whose parent has only enough money (their tools and resources) to buy a meal at McDonald’s.  I disagree with Miss Cherry Scott on one piece of this wisdom. You work for and earn the tools and resources with which you eventually end. Once there, then yes, do whatever you want to do with those resources.

9.  Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

         Some people are brilliant at ignoring what they truly want. I think I’ve been a victim of this. Let me explain… Coming from a traditional, conservative family, I’ve been raised in an incredibly sheltered life. I didn’t really know up until a couple years ago that how I was living wasn’t what I wanted (or needed). Rather than sit inside with pearls and a spotless dress, I learned I want to embrace the spontaneous adventurer in me. I have just begun, and I am so glad I listened to that relentless whisper in me. I’m a pretty nerd who likes to be on the water, play hockey, trek through a  rain forest, thinking about applying to live in the Museum of Science and Industry for a month  and save money for a wedding that won’t happen for at least another half-decade. I embrace spontaneity, and I could have never truly known that had I just listened… and let go.

10. You will forget all this.

                  Yes, probably. But somebody else might not. To somebody else, at least one idea has stuck with them for the rest of their lives. Woohoo!