Personal Strength

Usually when I am having lunch in a shopping mall, I’d set myself down into a state which I tuned out all the hustles and bustles that goes around me. Clattering trolleys, howling children, the drowning noise of idle chatter among shoppers don’t bother me as I enjoyed my meal in this internal oasis of peace.

One day, I sense something curious passing by – and for the first time I lift my head and it was an unusual sight. I saw a young woman, probably in her twenties, fashioning a look that was pretty odd for this age: her overly large glasses, freckled face and sporting pony tails, which looked liked a cross between Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

As she strides past me, I notice that she’s holding handle bars but was not pushing a shopping cart. Intrigued, I took a closer look and I am surprised to see those handle bars are of a walker she’s using and both her legs are coiled with large metal braces.

Her strides were awkward and uneven, but yet the strength that goes with each step exudes an air of confidence. Her expression is one of great power: showing determination and a can-do attitude in overcoming any challenges that she faces.

I may not know her at all, but with such demonstration of willpower and strength, it couldn’t be more clear that personal strengths could never be given or acquired, but rather demonstrated through your own actions.