Life flows through you
you seem to have it all
Awards, trophies scattered all over the walls
This is clear, this is true, it’s always been so easy too

Yet despite all this, no one would believe
you are not as strong as me

Life for me has been the opposite, it’s true
Seems like I stumble and fall, I keep pushing

But it’s easy to see that you’re not as strong as me

With nothing of value, just a home
An old car rattling, a house not a throne
Nobody special, just a stranger
Somehow a warrior, a soul of his own

Battered and tired, still standing tall
Tired of the fight, proud to survive them all
Life did not prepare you, to stumble or fall
It forces you to stand up and carry the ball.
Goals fell into place, with each passing year
Hardly a worry, never a fear

So, on this, we can agree, that the one you discard, the one you ignore,
The one who has a soul and much more,
He who has nothing against everything he possesses, He who rises beyond the unknown,
The one you can never, never be
Simply put, because you’re not as strong as me!

This poem or ballad expresses a lot about my life. I wanted to publish, only without explanation but within the rules there is a minimum of words for articles. It makes sense to me. So I wrote this follow-up, this microcosm of my life and years that have created who I am.

In life, what defines us is not how much we have or how far we have advanced, but how much we have grown. The old adage, “You can’t take it with you,” is said so often, but is mostly ignored.

We lose sight of so many things in our climb to acquire and succeed. Too often people are so insecure, so afraid of being who God created them to be. They hide behind wealth, position, possessions; they don’t know who they are. If they were naked without any “stuff”, how strong would they be? Would they even get up? Even survive?

For me, this same experience happened. He could be an addict right now, a suicide victim or dead from stress; instead, I’m still here. Yes, it has cost me, but it has only strengthened my soul. It has made me aware of how strong I am. The core, our being, is the inner inner strength. Yes, we are all resilient to some degree, but how many times can you get knocked down and finally decide not to get back up?

I face this challenge often. Just when I think I have nothing left. Just when I want to say “enough”. In the depths of despair this inner voice arises, or perhaps it is an emotion. Whatever it is, the catalyst that catapults me to rise up is “anger.”

Slowly I start to stir, the feelings of despair push aside and this surge, this inner push forces me to say: “Not today.”

In the process of this discovery I meet many people, who first evaluate “possessions” and then determine one’s worth. It’s almost ridiculous that they are so entrenched in what they have, that if they lost everything, they would die.

What doesn’t kill us… is an adage, not a reality. It often kills us or people would never die. But that is why we really carry with us everything that we are, everything that we have learned, everything that we have become.

Success is not always measured in this life. Famous painters die penniless, only today they have created art that is priceless. In his time, many would have dismissed them as useless.

I know a lot of people. I hope one day to meet someone who is stronger than me.