The Greatest Strength
I woke up from an incredible dream this morning. As is the case with most of my dreams, the overall course of it was scattered and filled with me searching around for something and never being able to find it, but right at the end, just before I woke up I had the coolest experience.
I found myself sitting in a school classroom; one of those old elementary school classrooms with the desks that aren’t made to fit adults. I was in the midst of a big gathering of people. Adults and children that my mind suddenly decided were Native American. There were no feathered headdresses or drums or even very traditional clothing, it just suddenly made sense that they were Native American. I realized I was a guest at a ceremony culminating several days of celebration for the passing of three boys from youth to manhood. There was no fanfare, just the gathering and the final act of the celebration. As I watched, a young tribal leader stood in front of the classroom and described that he would now give the young men a container into which they would place symbols of the strengths they felt they could give to the tribe now that they were adults. After they placed their symbols into the container or pouch, they were to pass it to the next until all three had placed their symbols into the pouch and the last one would give it back to the leader. The first youth acted embarrassed and only put one symbol into the pouch before passing it on to the next. The next two boys were larger, stronger, and more confident than the first and they placed several items into the pouch before passing it back to the leader.
When the leader received the pouch he moved back to the front of the group and proceeded to remove the symbols from the pouch. Somehow he was able to identify who put what symbols in the pouch and began describing what each symbol represented. As he began, most of the symbols he pulled from the pouch belonged to the second and third boys, given the fact that they had put so many in compared to the first boy. The first symbol the leader pulled from the pouch represented physical strength and had been placed in the pouch by the third and largest of the boys. The boy was pleased with the leader’s description of the power the symbol represented and he received several congratulatory slaps on the back from friends and family, but the congratulations and laughter died quickly as the leader finished his description of the symbolism and called for another member of the tribe join him at the front of the room. A giant of a man with a grave expression on his face lumbered to the front of the room and turned to face the group. The room got immediately quiet and the leader reached into the pouch again and removed a second symbol. This symbol had been placed into the pouch by the second boy and represented speed. There were more congratulations for the second boy albeit more subdued than the first, and, not surprisingly, when the leader finished his description of the symbolism he called another member of the tribe forward. This time a slight, sinewy man stepped with long strides to the front of the group and with the same grave expression turned to face the group. This same process continued as the leader slowly emptied the pouch of the symbols that had been placed in it. Each symbol representing a strength that each boy felt confident he possessed above any other; wisdom, faith, kindness, etc. each one being followed by the leader calling forward a member of the tribe that inarguably possessed a greater amount of that quality or strength.
The last symbol pulled from the pouch finally belonged to the first young man that had acted so shy about what his contribution to the tribe would be. This final symbol, the leader described, represented the ability to learn. As the leader finished, the group waited for him to call forward another member of the tribe, but he just finished and was quiet.
After a moment’s pause, the leader began to explain that for all of the preceding gifts, strengths or qualities, there could be someone found that exceeded what you possessed at any point in your life. But there was none among them that could be called forward as the greatest learner. He said the greatest strength anyone could offer their tribe is a willingness to be teachable; the humility to believe you can always learn something or be strengthened by those around you.
I woke up right after that and pondered what I had seen for most of the day. It is a powerful reminder that the acknowledgement that you possess weaknesses can be considered strength. And not just any strength, but the greatest strength you can offer to those around you.
It reminds me of the old proverb about the reason we were given two ears and only one mouth, so we would listen twice as much as we speak. It’s also important to remember that the least among us can be, and often is, the greatest among us.