There is strength in numbers. We have all heard that. I stopped recently to think about just what that meant.
No doubt, there has been a time in all of our lives when we may have felt weak or powerless as just one person, going up against a force–whether that force was a challenging task, a difficult transition, or a lofty goal.
When we join forces with those around us who have a common result in mind, we can increase our power. Standing together makes us feel like we can even beat the Big Bad Wolf.
Which leads me to the bricks.
While clearing away a bunch of old bricks in my yard one afternoon, I started to think about the symbolism behind bricks.
Bricks signify strength, weight, and often power. Immediately, we think of the story of The Three Little Pigs. Success comes only to the pig who took the extra effort to use bricks as a building material for his home. The moral: hard work and dedication pays off.
The funny thing about bricks, is that each weighs in at only 4.5 pounds… not particularly heavy in and of itself. Strength and power enters the picture when they are stacked together.
Each of the bricks in the wall is the same width, depth, and height. Each has the same power. Yet, when gathered with its “friends,” each brings more of the same to the party, and a wall, a home, or a fortress can be built.
My mother passed away this year. During the time leading up to her passing, my four siblings and I worked together to care for her: Medicare, doctors appointments, food and supplies, managing relationships with her aides, COVID concerns. We faced daunting responsibilities. It would have been extremely difficult for any one of us to handle alone, but we, like the bricks, worked together as a unit to build off each other’s strengths and get everything done.
There are so many instances where “strength in numbers” can work to your benefit. On a community level, you may have worked tirelessly to create housing for adults with intellectual disabilities but it only became a reality when the town board, county, and local agencies all banded together to make it happen.
Perhaps your daughter thought the principal made an unfair decision about a school dance or rally, and organized the student body in a respectful manner with logical thought, and decisions were amended.
Change.org is a huge movement for people to sign petitions that can impact social change. Whether it is getting a pharmaceutical company to continue trials for a particular drug, or seeking justice for an individual who has been wronged, when people unite for a cause, they can make a big difference.
Sometimes, it takes a village to get things done. Day by day, brick by brick. Strength in numbers, and more bricks in the wall.