It’s About Power….

I have often agreed with the statement that absolute money and power corrupts. We see it time and time again. Now I am not saying that those that have one, or the other, or both, are corrupt. Just that corruption is a far bigger obstacle for them to overcome or avoid. Many that have enjoyed great power and become corrupt because of it, will fight losing it as they fall. And we are seeing this today in government, media, athletics, entertainment, well in all walks of life. Funny that it is also power that is shining a light on this. Maybe I should start with the definition of power to show my point. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines it this way “possession of control, authority, or influence over others, or the ability to act or produce an effect, or physical might”. I am so recognizing and many others are as well that we all have power, if only over ourselves and our choices. Look at many finally finding their voice to tell their stories. They are rising with the power in their truths. Others are losing their power as the light shines brightly on the use or misuse of it. I would certainly call that acting and producing an effect.

For a long time I didn’t realize the power I had, and as a matter of fact I would have said I had the complete opposite; weakness.  I guess fear had kept it unrecognizable to me. The fear of what would happen if. But I read recently in 2 Timothy 1:7 from The Holy Bible “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. The trick is having the ability to combine these three. It is my opinion and maybe yours as well, that there are things we need to couple with power that will help to keep corruption at bay. The things that come to my mind are a moral compass (love ?) and sense of responsibility (sound mind ?). As I watch some whose lives are being destroyed publicly and maybe possibly deservedly so or maybe not, I wonder did they not know right from wrong? Could they not recognize good from evil? Did they not know they had the responsibility to hold themselves to a higher standard? Maybe they did not know any of these. Maybe they were never taught such things. But if they were taught these things, than Abraham Lincoln put it best when he said “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”.

I hope that we can use the happenings of today to learn our own lessons. That when we recognize our own power, and use our own power, that we do it in such a way that we do not completely destroy someone else in the process. With great power, come great risks, and with that is the possibility of great reward. But, the opposite can also happen with the great risk, that there is great downfall. Intent has a lot to do with it. Good intentions usually come when we add love to the power. So as we rise, rid ourselves of pain, tell our truths, and gain our power, let us not forget to remember love in this process, as difficult as that will be. Warning to myself and all of you, I can fall just as hard and from as great a distance as the next person and it will hurt just as much. So if my rise knocks somebody down I have to prepare myself for the same outcome. That is why I try to approach my topics from a place of love and why I always try to bring you along for the ride. Thank you for joining me. May we all rise together.

So as I exit today, a truth about me, I do love my quotes.  With that said, I will leave you with one for all of us to think about. “The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace” ~ Mahatma Gandhi