Claim your power!

I admire people who look at those of us who have wealth and influence and see an equal. I see myself as inferior. I feel like I’m not even a part of the game. The game might as well be played in another universe.

We are all a part of the game however, no matter how far apart our perceptions misleadingly tell us we are. Every day we interact with thousands of interwoven systems, systems that have consequences we don’t fathom. We walk into a store and walk out with bags full of goods whose origins we are oblivious to, wearing clothes put together who knows where, focused only on the outputs of those systems and how they can benefit us.

The rich and influential participate in systems too. Some of them we are a part of, just not the same way. We mostly help run them, and don’t even get to see their results. We see this, tend to feel powerless and fault them for the dynamic.

You want those people to change, to consider you and how their choices influence your life. You ask for their compassion. You feel they have the power to make your life better but unjustly so, care only about using it for their own good. I wonder, do you act any different? I don’t mean “if you were in their shoes would you give enough shit about people you never met to reduce your own comfort for their sake”. I mean, right now.

When you purchase that exotic fruit, or cheap chocolate bar, do you ask yourself what system you are putting your money into, and how fair is that system towards everyone involved? Or are you too busy feeling powerless, like you’re a victim? Do you realize the power you have, and the responsibility we all have?

Our money is a vote. Every time we let it flow in a certain direction we fuel the engine of some system. We vote to help that system grow, at the detriment of another. Unfortunately most systems out there are not ethical. They are a reflection of each and every one of us - how many of us can say we lead a consciously ethical life?

Which means claiming that power comes with a heavy burden, the burden of choice - whose mouths do we want to feed, which pockets to we want to fill, and at what cost towards the environment?

Can you claim it anyway and earn the right to expect more of those who wield even more power than you, or would you rather avoid the responsibility and keep living unintentionally? Depending on where you’re at, you may not have the energy for that, and that’s of course your right. If that’s the case, though, maybe don’t waste your energy expecting others to do what you cannot.

Perhaps focus instead on building enough strength to carry that burden. We can all together, little by little, starve the systems that starve us and feed the systems that help everyone and everything involved thrive. There are plenty of systems like those out there. They are just less convenient. Convenience is a small price to pay though, for a chance to claim our power and make the system better.

You are loved.