Power and Knowledge

Power and Knowledge

It is common to think what one would do if he or she was a king or the president. We imagine that we would do good things; better than what is being done now. We think of power in personal terms too, as when we imagine that enough money or control over others would enable us to solve most of our problems. As for our "if I was emperor" fantasies, what makes us think that all the presidents and kings of the world haven't shared our thoughts? They too undoubtedly planned to use their power for good.
How, then, do we arrive at a power which is good and useful? Money is an obvious one. I have also seen people try to help others with money, only to make matters worse. Having money without proper knowledge and understanding is like having a car without a steering wheel - it's a wreck waiting to happen.
Suppose you study subliminal influence over others, and learn powerful techniques. You use your secret techniques to win the love of a woman or man, but perhaps the relationship adds only pain to your life. There are other tools of power. Political connections, knowledge, and charisma come to mind. This gets us to the real source of a good and useful power.
Self Knowledge is also a kind of tool of power. You cannot be powerful in a good sense without a high degree of self knowledge. You have to first exercise a kind of personal power to observe yourself honestly and come to understand who you are, what you need, and the nature of your relationship to the rest of the world.
One definition of power is "The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively." It raises the natural question, "effective for what?" In other words, we have to truly know what our highest values are, or the specific manifestations of power become self-destructive and destructive of others as well.
To return to the metaphor of the infant with a knife: He does not understand his own body, or the danger of a knife to that body and others, or how to use it and for what purposes. If what money you have now is not used wisely, why would having more change that? Seeking a better understanding of ourselves and the world is the path to true power.