I watched a tribute Anderson Cooper made to his recently deceased mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. It was very sweet, and very touching. Something that he said about her, really struck me. He said that Gloria was not tough, but she was the strongest person that he knew. I could relate to that statement. I am not tough, but I am strong. And I sometimes think that if you are not a tough person, people can’t imagine that you are strong. Of course, we all have “weak” moments. My sister-in-law, a helicopter pilot, and one of the first women to graduate from West Point (in other words, she’s tough and strong) had to be supported when it was time to stand at her father’s funeral, because she was extremely overcome with emotion. Yet, we often equate being emotional, as being weak. Nonetheless, we all know that it takes a whole lot of strength to really feel and accept and allow your emotions. My guess is that some of us are tough and some of us are not tough. Toughness is a personality trait born out of circumstance and adrenaline and physical strength, many times. However, I think most of us are strong – very strong, much stronger than we realize.
