Authentic. Showing Up. Living Life. Striving.

Lately this phrase has been bothering me. Be strong. We tell people to "be strong" when they are going through a difficult time. I have recently gone through a very difficult time in my personal life and have been told countless times how "strong" I am... And if I'm honest I think we tell people to be strong when we don't know how to respond or react when someone is being vulnerable with us about their struggle. I think it's a knee jerk response for when we don't know what to say to others. The dictionary defines "strong" as "able to withstand great force or pressure." When someone is hurting, I don't think it's necessarily force or pressure they are experiencing. I think it's pain, sadness, numbness, loss, loneliness (I could keep going but I'll stop here as I think you get the picture." I think it's invalidating to the experience they are going through. Personally, I have not felt  strong at all the