I keep reading about life’s trials and tribulations. I know, I know, it sometimes seems like there is nothing else. BUT, I keep wondering about something. You see, there is an old expression that has always irritated me, both because it’s true, and because it’s overused: “It builds character.â€
But, on the other side of that coin is a long list of facts. Plants can’t grow without struggling against gravity. Trees grow stronger when they struggle against the wind. Babies are born fighting for life and that first breath. We all have gone through personal trials that we have come through as better people. So, I guess that trials, tribulation, and pain really DO build character.
I can honestly say that I am glad that I have had some of the troubles in my life, because if I hadn’t had to work through them, I don’t know if I would like myself. Now, I know that sounds a bit arrogant and superior, and I in no way mean it to. All that I am saying is that, ten years ago, if you were to ask me how I felt about myself, I would have said, “I love my life, but I hate myself.†Now, I can honestly say that I like myself and who I have become. I will always be a work in progress, and I know that I will backslide a time or two (or a dozen), but I can look at myself in the mirror when I shave every morning and smile, because the man in my mirror really isn’t that bad of a guy.
So, to “It builds character†I would like to add a different take on that philosophy. It is one that sounds more brutal, but is elegant in its simplicity. This one comes from the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, and it says, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.â€
