What is Strength?

The saying goes, that which does not kill you makes you stronger, and in a general sense, this is true. The trick is to recognise what strength actually is.

Who is stronger, a man or a woman? A Buddhist monk or a bodybuilder? A long-distance runner or a sprinter? Each one has its own kind of strength and it is very much like comparing apples and oranges. Most individuals would say a man is stronger than a woman, a bodybuilder stronger than a monk, and a sprinter stronger than a long-distance runner. Preconceived notions that don't take into account all of the factors that make up strength.

It is fortunate for our species that women are responsible for the birthing of our young because I would hate to imagine our fate if this duty fell to men. To go through hours of intensive labour and deliver a newborn child into the world would take more strength than most men could ever hope to muster.

How many bodybuilders could suffer through the hunger and challenges a humble monk goes through on a day-to-day basis? And few, if any, monks, could lift the heavyweights that a bodybuilder does.

When comparing the strength of the mind against the strength of the body. Which one is more important for human survival?

We see large muscles and automatically think of strength, but muscularity is not a true overall representation of strength, it's just how we perceive it to be.

Everyone faces their own challenges in life, and it is how we react...how we meet those challenges, that is the true test of character and shows what strengths, or alternatively, what weaknesses, we possess.

And just because I am strong today, doesn't mean I will be strong tomorrow. Change happens, and is one of the most arduous tests of strength a human, or for that matter, any species can endure. But, in a very basic way, these changes are what determine the direction of our species over time.

How we evolve is due to our ability to survive, and not necessarily how large our muscles are, how fast we can run or even how large our brain is. In reality, the true strength of any species is to simply survive and procreate, adapting to long-term changes in the environment and also in day-to-day life.