Strength comes not with facing adversity, but by overcoming them. We no longer want to survive no, for to survive is just about existence. If we are to be victorious in this life we have to get better, gain and overwhelm the adversities. We are told to be survivors, to keep quiet, take the beating now so we can live tomorrow. As for me, I have realised that surviving does not mean you will be in a better place, not stuck in the trauma of survival; always revisiting and feeding the wound. Instead, I want the wound completely healed so I can be stronger and more intuned to making life an endless possibility for possibilities to shine.
When I was younger I almost lost the top joint of my finger. I was opening a tin with a knife and it slipped and the tin cover I had partially opened almost sliced off the joint completely. At first, there was no blood, only a big blob of white mass oozing through. Then, with little warning blood started sprouting endlessly. For some seconds I stood watching the blood as it flowed to the ground, it seemed unreal to me. Then my grandmother came. She had heard me screaming in agony. I had not realised I was crying out quite loudly. I grabbed my finger and bent it back in place to stop the blood; there was so much blood. I was taken to the doctor and a big fat tape was wrapped around it. “You’re lucky you came in time or we would have had to get rid of the joint”, the cut was that deep. The doctor told me that if I wanted to get it as straight as possible I had to keep pushing it forward. When it healed, however, it was not straight. That finger was inelegantly larger than the other hand and had a permanent bend. Of course, I hated it. I tried to hide it and not to use it if I could.
Eventually, I realised three things about that finger. One, it will always be a part of me. So, whether I liked it or not, it was there. I had to accept it in its present state, not how it was or how I wanted it to be. Next, There was a story of survival that meant it had been through something that almost destroyed it but it lived to tell the tale of that experience. Finally, it was strong. It healed in the best way it could, functions the best it can and will remain where it was planted for as long as it has life. The last point was the most inspiring. Yes, it survived, but it had not withered away to a shell of itself. Now it has character, it has presence, and it is the strongest finger I have. Though it is not as beautiful as my other fingers in the original, expected sense, it is beautiful, it is itself because of what it can now do.
My finger illustrates for me the power of one who overcomes. To face the challenge and win means you have been stretched to the point where growth is possible. Where you can evolve into someone who does things you once thought unimaginable. It forces you to test the limits of your strength so you can realise that strength is gained in measures not given at once. Each day an overcomer represents the truth, that in order to thrive we have to be challenged or die a bud and not a flower.
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