Power and fear

It’s strange. Power (in the most customary use of the word: that is external, social, political, or otherwise influencial) has a strong, seemingly perverse relationship with fear. One might assume that as one becomes more powerful they have less to fear as they have succeeded in conquering new ground. But perhaps it is the acknowledgement of the fundamental limitation of a human’s true power that the powerful increasingly fear losing their power. The ‘powerful’ grow ever more wary of trespassers to their fortunes. A powerful persona may be put forth, but more fittingly it seems they act as would a homeless man defending his alms. As their possessions and subsequent leverage increases, so too their paranoia. Alertness captivates their attention until there is nothing left to occupy their minds but anxieties of loss, with sparse delusions of future plunder.

It is only when those with the most, become those with only many, than just more, a little less to a a few, finally then to nothing. The crescendo of the ravenous dog barks occurs when it’s final competitors are in arms reach and no future conquers are out of their sight.

Then, when one is left with nothing, the noise subsides. Where fear shrinks to a speck so little that the phoenix of power (ironically) rises from the dirt on which they rest their head. With nothing to lose, what have they to fear?

So to pursue power, is one then inviting fear to rule? Is choosing to be fearless a declaration of powerlessness? Perhaps not, perhaps so.