Strength and Endurance

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Strength is defined as: The ability to do things that need a lot of physical or mental effort. While the Oxford Dictionary puts it like this: The ability to apply a force and overcome a resistance.
As for Endurance, the Oxford Dictionary has this to say: the ability to continue doing something painful or difficult for a long period of time without complaining, while the Cambridge Dictionary words it slightly differently: the ability to keep doing something difficult, unpleasant, or painful for a long time.

Published 1st October 2024 By Christine Banks
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If you were to research both words in Latin you probably wouldn’t be surprised to discover a myriad of words associated with one.  Words the likes of; patience, toughness, vigour, tolerance, and forbearance to name just a few.

So why, you rightly ask, am I bringing these two particular words to your attention?  Because I believe they are primal and instinctive characteristics that reside in all of us, developed continually by our individual experiences, our choices and our environment (social, professional, personal and natural).  Not surprisingly, however, we never know the depth of our strength and endurance until put under duress.

The students at Glengarry are learning just how deep strength and endurance goes. Wednesday afternoons are the big Physical Training afternoons. Each week a course is designed for the boys to complete. They haul tyres, carry logs, jerry cans, canoes, sandbags, and ropes. They do this while running up and down hills. The first time they competed it was over five kilometres, and they thought they’d never make it.  Last week they completed a fifteen kilometres PT, utterly spent by the end, but hyped on their achievement.  Their strength and their capacity for endurance has grown and developed.  What they saw as utterly impossible at the beginning of their intake, they are now achieving, and what’s more, they are looking to the next tougher challenge.  They are learning the value in digging deep, of encouraging one another to keep going and commendably, of helping struggling members of their team finish.  Let me say here, that those boys helped over the line have every ounce of strength and endurance their teammates do, because instead of pulling out and quitting, they dig in, accept help and get the job done. It’s worth noting, that it’s not unusual to see those same boys in the next PT helping teammates who had the week before helped them. It’s only right to acknowledge that we all have days when we aren’t feeling up to the task, and days when we feel we could carry the world.

What Glengarry boys learn from these sessions is invaluable. Strength and Endurance. Strength of mind to stay positive. Strength of body to finish the trial. Endurance in spirit to not despair and give in. Patience with the journey. Tolerance with teammates. 

In the end, strength and endurance isn’t always about who is physically the strongest and who can endure the longest. It’s about the human spirit and how wonderfully and brilliantly we are designed to rise above adversity and help others do the same. It’s about strength of character and enduring kindness, generosity and selflessness.  My hope is that you have opportunities to show these qualities, and that you have a lovely day.

 

Christine Banks

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