What Does Strength Mean To You?

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Quentin Nokov

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So, for my story there is an underlying religious theme. The main character is over 5,000 years old but trapped in a 13 year old body. She comes off weak, sensitive, and anxious at times and sometimes I think it doesn't work according to her mental age and the spiritual connection she's suppose to have as guardian-of-the-universe-to-be. But then I thought about Christ and, perhaps I've been misreading the Gospel all these years, but there were times when it seemed like Christ was anxious over the idea of being crucified.

So what does strength mean to you? Is it all physical? Does it mean having a thick-skin; going onto a battlefield fearlessly? Laughing in the face of danger? Is strength characterized by being fearful, but facing those fears despite personal anxieties? Is it doing something you dread but you do it anyway for the benefit of others?

How would you define strength? Where does strength come from? Does it come from God? Experience? Selflessness? Pride?
 
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Maxx

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So, for my story there is an underlying religious theme. The main character is over 5,000 years old but trapped in a 13 year old body. She comes off weak, sensitive, and anxious at times and sometimes I think it doesn't work according to her mental age and the spiritual connection she's suppose to have as guardian-of-the-universe-to-be. But then I thought about Christ and, perhaps I've been misreading the Gospel all these years, but there were times when it seemed like Christ was anxious over the idea of being crucified.

So what does strength mean to you? Is it all physical? Does it mean having a thick-skin; going onto a battlefield fearlessly? Laughing in the face of danger? Is strength characterized by being fearful, but facing those fears despite personal anxieties? Is it doing something you dread but you do it anyway for the benefit of others?

How would you define strength? Where does strength come from? Does it come from God? Experience? Selflessness? Pride?

Strength of Character? Maybe some historical characters would be more revealing than Christ.

For example, I've been pondering Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. More of a John-the-Baptist-figure obviously (see below for his Wikipedia entry). Anyway, for him there came a day when -- with the Committee of Public Safety watching -- he had to risk all against the combined armies of the 1st Coalition at Fleurus and change the whole tide of the Revolution despite treachery and perceptions of treachery all around him. He stuck to his overall aim, but flexibly executed a brilliant campaign while everything around him changed. And he was like that for another 40 years!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Jourdan
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I'd have a hard time believing a character had lots of moral strength if they were always timid and anxious and fearful. Strength is the ability to stand firm. I'm always more impressed with moral strength than with the physical variety.

Where does it come from? Well, as a Sikh, I think all things come from God because nothing (and I do mean nothing) exists outside of God.

Where does it come from in individuals? Probably the ability to tap into inner resources. Kinda vague, I know. Best I'm coming up with at the moment.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

kuwisdelu

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Strength can be many things.

It can mean standing back up when you get knocked down.

It can mean facing your fears instead of letting them paralyze you.

It can mean being who you are instead of who other people want you to be.
 

Teinz

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But then I thought about Christ and, perhaps I've been misreading the Gospel all these years, but there were times when it seemed like Christ was anxious over the idea of being crucified.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+22:44

I'd say he was very afraid. Did you believe it to be otherwise at some point?

Is strength characterized by being fearful, but facing those fears despite personal anxieties? Is it doing something you dread but you do it anyway for the benefit of others?

That's what Jesus did, right?

How would you define strength? Where does strength come from? Does it come from God? Experience? Selflessness? Pride?

It can come from all of those things. Strenght in itself is not admirable. Some of it's results can be.
 

RichardGarfinkle

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I'm having a bit of trouble with the word Strength here. It seems like too blurry a term, covering a number of qualitatively different things.

Physical strength does not give one the ability to endure suffering. There are many bullies who cannot handle the slightest reversal of fortune.

I don't think strength of character has any particular meaning. It implies an overall structural integrity to the person. But someone who can handle a great deal of one kind of suffering (like personal torture) might not be able to handle the illness of a loved one.

Fearlessness, bravery, and courage are three different virtues that make for three qualitatively different characters.

A fearless person simply does not experience fear and therefore can walk into danger with only (possibly) rational concerns for the possible outcomes.

A brave person will face the sources of fear as a challenge. Bravery is the closest to strength in this sense. Bravery treats the difficulty as a contest, seeking to wrestle down fear.

Courage (the one I'm most in favor of) is more a matter of not regarding ones fear as important. A courageous person does what needs doing regardless of their own feelings. They aren't trying to overcome fear; they just don't see it as mattering.
 

Teinz

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Indeed. It was his human nature. That's one of the tenants of the meaning of his actions -- he offered himself in spite of his human fears.

Would his sacrifice have been meaningless if he went in fearless? I feel like it would be, but I can't really put into words why.
 

Quentin Nokov

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I'd say he was very afraid. Did you believe it to be otherwise at some point?

I guess because He's the Son of God / a God and knows all and he knew why the sacrifice was important one would think he wouldn't have been so anxious about it. I think a lot of fear comes from the unknown, but then again Christ knew what was to happen. But then, did He feel fear? I dread things and can become anxious, but that's not the same as being afraid of those things. But dread I think correlates more with hatred and I don't think Christ would have hated His role. Hm, then again Christ tell us "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:25

So much speculation. . . .

The verse in Matthew (27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?") kind of struck me, too. Christ obviously felt alone and disconnected from any help. Yet Christ can empathize with us (Hebrews 4:15) and understand our own anxious hearts through his suffering. So the suffering was good for us because we now have a high priest who understands suffering and temptation and will help us in times of trouble if we cry out to Him.

My character goes through her own suffering (3 1/2 years of being a prisoner of war) And her anxiety and timidness comes from the negative experience.

So here's a question, does one have to suffer first before one can become strong or courageous? Is fear of the unknown necessarily true? After all, there's a saying 'ignorance is bliss'.

***

Siri, I think I kind of understand where you're coming from.

Richard, you make some good points about the true meaning of the word "strength". It got me thinking more about the meaning behind the words 'fearless', 'brave', and 'courageous'.
 
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RichardGarfinkle

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So here's a question, does one have to suffer first before one can become strong or courageous? Is fear of the unknown necessarily true? After all, there's a saying 'ignorance is bliss'.


Richard, you make some good points about the true meaning of the word "strength". It got me thinking more about the meaning behind the words 'fearless', 'brave', and 'courageous'.

I think it's hard to be able to do anything without practice and real world experience.

For me, things like courage are a matter of practice and application, of trial and error even. The experience of fear shows me what in my own mind I need to deal with, so that I can correct my approach (or try a new method if what I'm doing doesn't work).

So, it's not so much that one needs to suffer, but that without the actual experience of suffering you won't be able to tell if you have learned how to handle it.

Note that a form of handling fear can be relying on divine aid. But that too takes practice. One would need to be able to let go of the fear, to offer it up and to trust that it would be attended to.

One thing that is clear, just about every religion and fully fleshed out philosophical system has one or more practices against fear. But all of them require practice. That is in part why I have trouble with the idea of strength in this situation. There is no sense of how do you do this in the idea of strength.

Your character's experiences as a POW are a good region for putting methods into practice. One question to consider does she develop those methods on her own, or is she using ways that were taught to her?

If you are going to show us some of that time period in your story, you will be able to flesh out her way of having survived, as well as showing us what aspects of her suffering she has learned to deal with and which aspects may still trouble and haunt her.

This gives a more nuanced character than one who was simply strong enough to make it through.
 

Siri Kirpal

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I think most of us need a touch of suffering to develop compassion, to feel for other peoples' pain.

But that's not strength...although, you could make the case that it is.

I think that challenging situations are where you can see that the strength is there. Not so much that they create the strength itself. In other words, it's a "you need darkness in order to see the candle's light" situation.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Xelebes

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The physical body with any robust muscle or organ.

A robust amygdala: a strong ability to be aroused emotionally
A robust bicep: a strong ability to lift things with only your arm
A robust frontal lobe: a strong ability to estimate and think things through
A robust lymph: a strong ability to fight off disease
A robust stomach: a strong ability to eat a broad variety of things

Having any of these is a strength. Having a lot of robust muscles and organs means you have a lot of strengths and a lot of capacities.

How is that for a cold and clinical definition of strength?
 
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