Friday 3 February 2012

The Thinking Cap - Strength

Strength

People often talk of strength. And in that context, they often talk of the mountains. In many ways, its probably natural. They are, after all, those who tower above the rest of the world, not for a day or month or even a year, but for decades and centuries. They are the high points from which man quenches many a thirst. One of inspiration, one of finding overwhelming beauty, and another, his need to be above all else. Unmoved, unbroken, they stand through the winds and the rains, the scorching sun and the most testing tides of time. And while they grant him a vastness that is beyond his comprehension, he still tries to conquer them in his quest of power and greatness.

Off late I've come to appreciate the virtues of what is probably, one of the things that is least associated with strength when confronted in small quantities. While it might not be easy to emulate or conquer, it still symbolizes to me, what we, in our lives probably most need.

The might of the ocean is something we all respect, love and probably even fear. Yet, a mug of it comes across as inconsequential. But when I think of water, I think less of "power" and more of "strength". I think about how it can be beaten beyond shape and state. About how it can be dropped from the sky, or blocked by  rocks in the path of a river, or tossed back and forth by the currents in the sea, or burnt by the sun into a soft, hot vapour or frozen into hard, cold ice. And yet it retains all of its virtues. Transparent, ever willing to be given shape, determined to find a way down the hill, untainted, undiminished. A drop of it on the palm can be wiped away into nothing but it still remains the largest proportion of the earth and the human body. And in spite of its humility, when it comes into its own, it is both, one of the most destructive, yet, most critical life giving forces known to man.

thinkingInfinity.