The Power of Powerlessness

I am altogether prepared to admit my powerlessness over all aspects of my life.

Truth: I am altogether prepared to admit my powerlessness over all aspects of my life, especially the ones for which I have little or no skill. But there is a solution. It is a 12 Step mantra that we are powerless over our lives and that we must depend on a higher power. Now, that Higher Power may be God or the divine or the universe or your muse. For me, most likely it is “the divinity resident in all that is seen and unseen.”

The Power of a Higher Power

So, with my consciousness of a Higher Power, I guess I fear not powerlessness. In fact, I often revel in it because it provides me opportunity witness the wholly mysterious work of the divine in my life and in the lives of those I love.

Although I am acutely aware of my powerlessness it does not, in any way, prohibit me from acting consciously and proactively to better myself and assist those around me. It is not an excuse for giving up. Rather I find powerlessness to function as incentive to move forward. I have discovered power in my powerlessness.

How so?

Co-Creation

I warm to the notion of co-creation with the divine. It is written, “In your weakness, I am strong.” If I could believe this in the deepest core of my being then, obviously, my anxiety (and any other disabling feelings) would not be an issue because, although it is me performing the creative task, it is co-produced with the aid of the power of the cosmos.

Co-creation is an empowering gift.

The Perils of Powerlessness

Now let’s consider the perils of powerlessness. At times I feel like a failure with all of my passionate and creative endeavors including: my blog and podcast, my work with Wells of Life, and a failure with my creative life as a writer and a painter as well.

Yes, I have felt powerless, inept, sometimes rejected, but always some kind of failure to live up to my potential. Fortunately these thoughts are indeed rare and fleeting because, in my times of sanity, I recognize the untruth of these feeling. Yet, they linger and may indeed be the genesis of my pathologies.

Not Without Power

Still… I KNOW deeply in my gut that, ultimately, I am quite powerful. When I actually have requirements in my life, albeit anxiety-laden requirements, I am at my best and most self-satisfied. Truly, I am not powerless and I refuse to accept that I am, even in my deepest periods of depression or angst, which are merely brief moments of insanity.

My powerlessness leads me to depend on a Source greater than myself and highly influential in all that I do. As a result, I realize I possess all the power I need to succeed in ways that are gratifying to me and helpful to others.

Accepted, Loved, and Empowered

Gifts to the Powerless

Photo courtesy of Pobytov at istockphoto