How do you define strength? Sure, physical strength can be easily measured, easy to see. A man pulls an army truck with his bare teeth and he would be deemed strong. Physical strength is just a facade to mirror physical abilities. Yet i measure strengths when you cannot see it. In my thick book of philosophies, the meaning of strength is intangible, unseen but felt.

Strength emanates from deep within.

Emotional strength is the ability to smile in the face of adversity. Strength is the courage to move on despite all difficulties the world imposes on you. It is equivalent to enduring a long withstanding problem. Being courageous, to me, is to be able to give, even when life has taken something from you. Would you be considered as someone strong if you accept fate, embrace the present and yet still have the faith to move on? To be able to deal with your shortcomings no matter how cruel fate might be on you, while life rolls by outside your window, is what strength's all about..

Why am i ranting these long, monotonous lines on strength? I'll tell you why.

An old friend gave birth to a baby boy, only to realize a week later that he has the Down Syndrome. I knew the news shocked her immensely and it sliced her into two. I could picture her joy of yet another addition to her family turning into sorrow beyond words. Yet she smiled when i arrived. She laughed when i joked. She talked to me in that same familiar lilt i had always known and gave me the brightest smile, as usual. But deep beneath that familiar smile, I knew she was crying, emotions beyond any words imaginable because she knew her life was about to change. The Malay adage goes "Berat mata memandang, berat lagi yang memikulnya". I may not be a mother but I am still a woman.

Why is fate so cruel? She did not cry for i had always known her to be a brave soul but her courage to accept what fate has cruelly thrown onto her and her family gave me a new light on emotional courage.

Her quiet strength has somehow taught me a lesson on life.

And it is her strength that made me cry.