Power

Often when we think of power, it comes with a negative association

of someone misusing power over someone else. Many world leaders

throughout history have abused power, resulting in worldwide destruction.

But power really only means concentrated energy.

Other people in history have had great power, and used it to better the world. They did this in one lifetime, due to

belief in people and belief that they could. Gandhi and Mother Theresa had great power and changed the lives of millions of people.

Everyone has power over themselves and others. Your words have the power to change even a stranger's mood. Your every interaction sets off other reactions with every person you interact with, and everyone they interact with. If you are in a great mood and compliment someone, they will more than likely appreciate the compliment, and continue that positive energy in a return to you or to someone else.

If you get the notion to right a wrong, or to improve a condition, taking that notion to more thought, then action, will affect others. You may wish to improve the condition of your neighborhood. Although everyone else in the neighborhood also sees the trash, patchy grass, and graffiti, they have accepted it as what is, as depressing as that may be. But if you use your energy to appeal to others to gather to clean up the neighborhood, the combined energy will increase. After your neighborhood has been cleaned, you may inspire others to do the same, or the group that participated in your neighborhood may have felt the job so rewarding that they wish to continue to improve things.

Often times, when we see a large problem, we can feel overwhelmed or angrily question why the government doesn't take care of it, or wish that a movie star would come and donate millions of dollars to fix it. That energy of feeling overwhelmed is power in an unusable form. Transforming it into action will not only relieve the anger, but it will also put that energy to good use.

Your thoughts have the power to initiate, your words, to form, and your body, to act. Real and lasting change does not occur in one enormous revelation, but in small, dedicated actions over time. Combined with one or two people, then more, then many, enormous changes can occur in much less time than one would think. Look around you in your surroundings. What is one thing that you would really love to see made better? Start with an action to improve it, no matter how tiny and insignificant it may seem. It may just be the seed to a giant oak.