“Overcome your chief weakness and inspire others who have the same weakness to overcome theirs”

This past month I read two books:  the first, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and the second, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  Both books captivated me and compelled me to analyze the outcomes of the choices the women in these books make.  Although the struggles the women face in the two books are very different, all three women find strength through astonishingly challenging situations.

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Wall’s memoir of her childhood.  While her parents did not provide much in the way of food, clothing and shelter,  they did provide love and freedom to exercise choice.  The family continually moved until they settled in her father’s childhood hometown where poverty was the norm, but even in this environment it was clear to Jeannette that she had nothing but her resources.  She worked diligently to save money to get herself out of the situation her parents created for her.  And once the money was saved, twice because her father stole her savings once, she ended up giving it to her sister to get her out of the situation which was selfless. In the depths of poverty the girl was creative, ingenious, crafty, and always seeking ways to feel proud.

The two women in A Thousand Splendid Suns endured things I will never know in my life.  Making a choice to live with a repulsive, older, abusive man to ensure your child is taken care of is a sacrifice that seems unthinkable.  Yet knowing what the options were the choice was straightforward.  These two women exhibited strength and courage throughout the book and finally ended with liberation of sorts.

These stories made me think about strength.  Maybe strength is innate; a part of my constitution.  It is just something I am without thinking about it or needing direction towards it.  Everyone has strengths.  How do we use them in the face of adversity?  Maybe it is simply taking a different perspective on the situation.  Can weaknesses be strengths?  More often these days I am leaning on my weaknesses to define my strengths.  It is like my weaknesses are actually opportunities.  Maybe my weaknesses send me on a different path where my spirit, energy and vitality are nourished and I am able to exhibit my health and tenacity without using great amounts of my reserves.  Or maybe they are opportunities to be tenacious and gut it out and feel empowered afterwards.

These books caused me to evaluate my situations and decide what perspective I want to take on my weaknesses. What are your weaknesses?  How can you grow and use your strength to make the most of them?  I encourage you to take a different perspective.  You might just find yourself smiling when you least expect it.  Have fun with it and get out there and have some fun with it.  After all, we are not victims of anyone or anything but ourselves.