"Well, you can do that because you have the power and authority to get people to do that." A co-worker said that to me recently and it got me thinking about Power. Just what is it and how do I use it? What value do I place on it and what is expected of me because I have it? And what is it that really I have anyway?
For many years I sought Power. I wanted to be in control. I wanted to be the Boss. I wanted to make the big decisions that shaped the direction of the companies I was working for. I viewed Power as the vehicle to putting me in the spotlight, the hot seat, the money seat. Power was something that I needed so that I could show people how important I was. Listen to the song "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel and you'll have a pretty good sense of what Power meant to me.
I've been in a position of some Power, professionally speaking, for a few years now...even more so recently. To be sure, I have the Power to determine company policy, hire and fire folks, promote, demote and all of those lovely duties that come with being an executive.
To some, this kind of Power represents "Power Over". The ability to control others lives by exercising my might over them. Power like that can be seductive and, I believe, ultimately ruinous. My initial concept of Power, while I was "on the way up", was exactly that...my dominion over you because I was more valuable and powerful than you. Not exactly enlightened, eh?
What I didn't realize was the awesome responsibility that comes with that kind of Power. So while others may see me as in charge and Powerful, what they rarely see are the internal wrestling matches I'm having, weighing up the consequences of the decisions I make. Every thought, every minor change, every seemingly insignificant show of Power has ramifications that go on far beyond the scope of a simple decision. So Power then becomes responsibility which is nowhere near as seductive sounding.
I recently realized something else about Power. Like most things it is completely transient and illusory. The Power I do have is funded partly by my hard work or good luck (which I find to be never far apart from one another) and yet it is also granted to me by the other members of the executive team and board members who place a value on what I do. But that power could be taken away from me if I were demoted or let go. What would happen to my Power then? The employees that currently report to me would no longer see me as they do now and my Power would be transferred to someone else. My Power lies then in the name I have, in this case, Senior Vice President. The name conveys the Power, not necessarily the person.
So I examined Power again. If Power is transitory, it is therefore by default, something that can be transferred or conveyed elsewhere. Power is harnessed energy. It can be used or abused. Power can be applied to one situation to produce a result that might not otherwise have happened. That's a fair approximation of the definition of Magick!
I only ever use Magick by choice because I understand that using Magick can have far reaching consequences. So if Power and Magick are synonymous, then I must also be in choice to use Power effectively.
And that leads me to my final understanding of Power. I don't really possess anything that can be labeled as power. Nothing concrete anyway. I derive any and all Power from the simple act of choice. My choices are my Power.
Blessed be
Gwion - The Corporate Pagan
My dad used to tell me that I thought I was the Big I Am
