Find the strength

" Strength doesn't come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things

you thought you couldn't"

I've been thinking about what to write for today's reflection and all I wanted to talk about are 3 very beautiful situations that I have encountered about which actually made me reflect about myself. Because honestly, life is tough and sometimes I am so worried I get so tired till the point I give up.

Let's start with the story-telling... Story number 1: I was on the MRT on my way to school and at Yio Chu Kang a very old lady - maybe in her 70s, entered the MRT. She was very petite and walked really slowly in. However, she was very cheerful, she kept smiling. So someone offered her a seat but all she did was rejecting in a joyful way, "No thank you! I can stand!". So the second person offered her his seat and she replied the same thing. One of the commuters asked her where she was headed to and she answered Dhoby Ghaut. And if you look at the MRT map, Yio Chu Kang to Dhoby Ghaut (9 stations apart) would take about 30 minutes! My heart felt so uneasy like - are you sure you can stand for 30 minutes?? I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one who felt that way because after she said that another two more commuters tried to give up their seat but she rejected ALL their offers. Finally at Orchard, it was more empty so she just sat on an empty seat beside me. Story number 2:

I was waiting for the traffic light and I saw a very old couple opposite me. Also looked 70-ish, both very petite and walking slowly. BUT, they were carrying a lot of grocery bags. Both of their hands were FULL. And what surprised me the most is that they took a longer route to cross the road. So I drew a (cute) picture to show what happened in a clearer way.

I was standing where the girl was when I saw an old couple opposite me. The PURPLE route is the route we will all normally take. We will just wait patiently for the traffic light to turn green! However, this couple actually didn't wait for the green light, they crossed the road using the pink route instead! Overall distance is the same, but I am just overwhelmed by the fact that despite waiting and wasting time, they decided to just use an alternative to reach their destination. AND THEY DIDN'T LOOK TIRED AT ALL. Story number 3: This is a really simple story. I came to school early during one of the days this week. I reached an hour earlier at 7.30AM and I expected NO ONE to be in the lecture theatre (LT). Okay, I was wrong. There were 2 other students who were earlier than me. That's fine and normal. But what made me a little stunt is the cleaner. So there was a cleaner, he looks in his 70-ish too. (I am not even kidding when I say they look 70-ish. They look so fragile.) He was sweeping the floor slowly, bit by bit, from one end of the LT to the other end. So I just spend a good 10 minutes staring at him pondering - What time did he wake up? Where did he live? Who sends him to work? How does he look so weak but still want to work? How did he get all the strength and motivation to just come to work? Is any of his children still supporting him? etc. Then I decided to reflect about myself instead. In all the 3 stories, there is a few distinct learning point when looking at these elderlies - STRENGTH, DETERMINATION and, INDEPENDENCE.

Strength & Determination - Sometimes you underestimate yourself and you say to yourself, "I can't do this" "It is impossible for me" "I won't make it", just because you think you don't have the strength to do it. But after observing these beautiful elderlies, I realise that strength comes from our mind too! Sometimes we just need to put the effort to try it first to know what is the limitations of the strength we have. Also, I was thinking, why do people give up easily without even trying and putting your best all the way? Is it because we are all just plain LAZY? or MAYBE we don't have the determination in getting what we truly want and what we actually deserve?

Independence - Though you feel weak and fragile, we still need to depend on ourselves because NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO HELP YOU. You might come across very nice souls when you are in need of help but it does not happen all the time. Being independent (no matter what age you are) helps your mind to be prepared to do things on your own. Until the point when there is really NO HELP, you feel that it is okay and you can surely manage to do it all by yourself.

I pray all of us are given the strength to go through hardships, no matter what age we are. I also pray that we don't lose our determination to achieve our goals. Lastly, I pray that we will all learn independence and when we face tough situations alone (well not really because remember, Allah s.w.t. is always there with you), we are still able to get through it. ♥

thepinkrosette