E-Kantipur

‘I awakened to the cry/that the people have the power,” sings Patti Smith. The concept of power pervades every aspect of our lives: work, home, government, schools. In our friendships, someone takes control of the relationship—there is always a dominant person. At our jobs, there is always a boss who is in a position of authority. In our homes, there is one family member who controls the rest of the household. How do we handle this power? Or more importantly, how do we react to it? And where does it come from. We don’t recognise how much power we hold in our lives. We control our own destinies; we make the decision of what are our own truths. The power over our lives comes from within. It is hard to remember how much power we do indeed hold in our own hands, and how to make sure to use it positively.

Handling our power is one of the difficulties human beings face. We are made up of so many qualities: power, patience, enthusiasm, kindness, greed, etc. Knowing what to do with our power proves difficult; especially when power coincides with greed or confidence or apathy. When power collides with greed, corruption occurs. It has been said that all power falls under two categories: aggressive (forceful) and manipulative (persuasion). Is that true? What exactly does it mean in terms of how we handle our own power? Smith says that we (the people) “can turn the world around/ we can turn the earth’s revolution.” Does this mean that we only have aggressive or manipulative powers, as has been said, or can our power be used for the greater good? I believe that despite the manipulative and aggressive qualities that can overtake our inner power, our power can be used for the greater good and to better our fellow humans.

With the prime minister still unknown and our government under no one individual, Nepal’s citizens feel as if they cannot control anything. Someone else is manipulating our marionette strings. But what is a country if not made up of its individual citizens, and inside each of those citizens are ideas unique only to them. Inside these individuals lies power with

distinctive energy; the power to do something different than anyone else has done before. I believe that the power inside us is not only negative, and that it can be used to make a difference in the world. We have to embrace and share this distinctive energy with the world in order to make good things happen. As writer and spiritual guide Joseph Ghabi says, “Power does not bring growth unless we understand the essence of sharing that power.”

With the government in Nepal being stuck between a rock and a hard place, we need to remember to share power. Nepal cannot grow unless we understand the essence of sharing the power that naturally exists. Those who dominate and showcase their power over others do not grow, Ghabi proselytizes. For example, someone who gains control over another through abuse and manipulation does not learn as much from that situation as the abused or manipulated. That is not making light or condoning abuse, just simply stating that we learn about ourselves from even the most terrible of circumstances. As we have understood, power pervades every relationship and human interaction. And one of our great human struggles is figuring out

how we can control our own lives through positively using our influence on and with the world.

How do we turn our power into something that the world can benefit and use: “the power to dream/ to rule/ to wrestle the world from fools”? Smith, in her view-changing lyrics, reiterates that we indeed can change the world, and that we the people, do have the power within. I ask first that we acknowledge that we hold this power and control it. We have the authority to change the

course of our destinies. How often have you thought how unfortunate it was that something happened the way it did, or wished that you had been able to control an outcome of a relationship? You can by embracing what you have inside. You have the power to change. And with that power comes responsibility. We have to use the control we have responsibly and without negative effect. In order to move forward and to grow, we have to acknowledge the power inside of us. We need to make sure not to confuse learning and growing with forceful and misguided decisions stemming from this power. As Baltasar Gracian wrote in 1647, “the sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.”

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