Maia D.

For men, strength is often associated with physical power; emotional and spiritual strength are not as easily accessed.

I find strength through the exposure of weakness – recognize it, accept and embrace it and take action to move through it. How do I discover weakness? Usually, when my wife ask me what’s wrong? My typical answer is “Nothing! Why do you ask?” After years of this lack of self-reflection I’ve come to trust and value my wife’s empathy, intuition, determination and perseverance. Although these are her greatest strengths, at times I felt it her empathy and intuition to be a weakness. Experience has proven me wrong (too many times).

My wife’s is strong because she is capable of recognizing and sharing her emotions, fears, and dreams. She is strong because she can listen and avoid engaging in arguments and at the same time not let people take advantage of her. She accepts who she is while struggling with whom she thinks she suppose to be. She is strong because she has sacrificed her wants and needs to care for her children and parents in ways I can see but don’t understand.

Another of her strengths is her compassion. The type of strength she showed while caring for her mother’s death from cancer can only be described as divine. The strength she continues to show in the aftermath of such devastation is human. She feels so deeply this loss she fears she may not recover, yet she continues to take care of her kids and her dad. I think this is what keeps her going. She also is willing to seek help. Recognizing and being willing to seek help is true strength. The delusion that you can do it alone is one mankind’s greatest weakness. Prior to meeting my wife, it was my greatest weakness. Her love, compassion, empathy, intuition, perseverance and vulnerability have made me a better husband, father, son, brother and member of society.

My wife is the strongest woman I’ve ever known.