Pursuit of Power...

Pursuit of power is something we all are involved in. Power not only over other people but also over our destiny, our family, our thoughts and our emotions. This is by no means an exhaustive list but I hope it is enough to convince the readers that power just doesn't mean having authority over other people.

I think this pursuit of power is an important part of our life. Right from day one we are involved in some kind of power struggle. As children we try and gain power over our parents, friends and associates. We are in a constant state of war with our surroundings. Be it to get a good mark in studies or to get a new toy. We also try and master our emotions and our behavior so the we can define a place for ourselves.
Then comes the power struggle to master various exams and entrance tests so that we get a head start in life.

Working life is perhaps the toughest and the dirtiest power struggle we may ever have to go through. Once that is over and we retire there is a new power struggle to conquer the fear of death. This last power struggle is perhaps the only one which we have a good chance of winning. After all death is the only certainity in life so we might as well accept it and stop fearing it.

The funny part is that pursuit of power always begins because of the right reasons.
We think that we must engage in a mental power struggle to get into the best schools, colleges because our life will then be much better. Same thing happens when we engage in a power struggle at our place of work. Thus the root cause of a power struggle is always positive. But how quickly the right reasons become the wrong reasons which lead to pain and suffering is quite amazing. The pain and suffering can either be within us or in our surroundings. But one thing is for sure.. the source of the pain is a power struggle.



This (image above) is one of the classic examples of how power struggles started for the right reasons (the upliftment of German people) went horribly wrong due to various well known factors.

It is amazing to see how we leap from one power struggle to another in our life always seeking to make ourselves happier and better off but just spreading pain and suffering around and within us.
After few years of this we just end up with a heart as hard as diamond and a mind as closed as a tomb where our free will, peace, happiness and love has been interred for life.

Why can't we feel happiness for the success of our fellow man instead of jealous.
Why don't we cooperate instead of competing.

Don't take life as a series of self improvements through power struggles. Take it as a chance to improve the lives of others around you through kindness and sacrifice.