Strength

[strivinghigher]

Yesterday, it was pointed out to me that being strong was not the most important thing in the world. It's a sentiment I generally agree with; I most certainly know it's far more important to be a decent person, to do worthwhile things, to make the world a better place, and so on. And I certainly know that there are other attributes that matter as

Comments

[thewishfire]

Doesn't that mean anyone who wasn't strong wouldn't ever be able to be a good alchemist, though? That doesn't make a lot of sense... I mean, Jess is one of the best alchemists we've got, and she's physically all frail and kind of sickly.... I think she'll get there before anyone. So... I'm really not sure it's necessary to doing well in that way, and... isn't that all that we need?

[strivinghigher]

Jess is strong in other ways, though. She has determination and confidence and a solid foundation of belief... Those can't be discounted. What if someone were physically strong, but weren't strong in any of the ways that could help them be good at alchemy? What would you say about them? They wouldn't have all they need...

[thewishfire]

Well... but they'd still manage it, if they wanted to. They might go slower, they might have more challenges to overcome.... But wouldn't facing those be its own kind of strength? Even if you lost sometimes, even if you couldn't always make it, you'd learn, and you would improve, and you'd get there.... And maybe you'd learn things along the way that a stronger person wouldn't have seen. If you never make mistakes at all, you can't grow.... Isn't that what they say?

[strivinghigher]

Right, so what if they didn't have the kind of strength that made them do it anyway? At any rate, you have to agree that it's better to be strong enough to get there than to be weaker and not make it...