10/23/2026
This made me cry
The Difference Between STRENGTH and COURAGE ❤️
One quiet morning, Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore were sitting beneath a big old tree. Neither was saying very much.
“Eeyore,” said Pooh, “everyone keeps telling you how strong you are. Does that make you feel better?”
Eeyore looked down at the ground.
“Not really, Pooh. Sometimes I think people tell me to be strong because they don’t know what else to say. But the truth is, I don’t always feel strong. Sometimes I feel like I’m barely holding myself together.”
Pooh thought about that for a moment.
“Then perhaps you don’t need to be strong all the time.”
“But isn’t that what people expect?” asked Eeyore. “To keep going, to stop crying, to get back to being myself?”
Eeyore sighed.
“And sometimes, Pooh, when people keep telling me to be strong, I start to feel like I’m doing something wrong. Like I should be handling my sadness better than I am.”
Pooh looked at him with concern.
“Oh, Eeyore. But grieving isn’t something you can fail at.”
“Then why does it sometimes feel that way?” asked Eeyore.
“Perhaps because people have made you believe that being strong means not falling apart. But missing someone, crying, or having days when everything feels too difficult doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re grieving.”
Eeyore thought about that.
“So maybe I don’t need people to tell me how strong I am.”
“Maybe,” said Pooh softly, “you just need them to remind you that it’s okay not to be.”
Eeyore was quiet for a moment.
“Then what do I need, Pooh?”
“I think there’s something much more important than strength,” said Pooh.
“What’s that?”
“Courage.”
Eeyore tilted his head. “Aren’t they the same thing?”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Pooh gently. “Sometimes being strong means holding everything together. But being courageous means allowing yourself to fall apart when you need to.”
“So crying doesn’t mean I’m weak?”
“Of course not,” said Pooh. “Sometimes it takes more courage to cry than to pretend you’re fine. And sometimes it takes courage to tell someone you’re lonely, that you’re frightened, or that you miss someone so much your heart hurts.”
“And what if I never feel strong again?” whispered Eeyore.
Pooh reached for his paw.
“Then we’ll start with courage, Eeyore. Just enough courage to face today. And perhaps, little by little, you’ll discover a different kind of strength growing inside you.”
Eeyore smiled ever so slightly.
“I think I like courage better than strength, Pooh.”
“So do I,” said Pooh. “Because courage doesn’t ask you to hide how much you’re hurting.”
❤️ A thought from Repairing Rainbows
When someone is grieving, please don’t feel you have to remind them to be strong. They may already be using every bit of energy they have just to get through the day.
When we constantly tell grieving people to be strong, we may unintentionally make them feel that their sadness is a weakness and that they’re somehow failing at grieving.
And that’s the last thing someone who is already hurting needs to feel.
Grief is not a test. There are no grades, no deadlines, and no right or wrong ways to feel.
Instead of telling someone to be strong, remind them how much courage it takes to face a life they never imagined having to live.
You don’t have to be strong to be courageous. And sometimes, courage is what eventually helps us find our strength again.
❤️ Repairing Rainbows
