Don Juan talks of the third natural enemy to enlightenment: “Power is the strongest of all enemies. And naturally the easiest thing to do is to give in; after all, the man (or the being) is truly invincible. He commands; he begins by taking calculated risks, and ends in making rules, because he is a master. A man at this stage hardly notices his third enemy (power) closing in on him. And suddenly, without knowing, he will certainly have lost the battle. His enemy (power) will have turned him into a cruel, capricious man. Such a man has no command over himself, and cannot tell when or how to use his power.” The mistake, it appears, is thinking the power is HIS to use as he pleases. He thinks he owns the power, rather than being a steward of it. What is Creator’s perspective?

We agree with this analysis and have commented already that power brings with it great responsibility, and that is the wisdom, to understand its application and consequences that ensue in order to make the best choices in where and when to exert power, and how to implement it to best advantage while achieving an objective without causing harm to others or the self. Such a perspective implies restraint and the discernment to understand how to go about it. This is why power alone becomes more a disadvantage than an advantage, because it brings with it the possibility of creating situations where one can fail spectacularly through the abuse of power in some way or other. It is a far greater offense to wield power unfairly that deserves a backlash from others, who end up being harmed through that unfair treatment, than to fail simply because one is weak and ineffectual—the former is hated and the latter merely pitied. It is a greater transgression to wield power recklessly and irresponsibly than remaining weak and powerless when the soul yearns for more. This is why attaining divine alignment needs to be always a part of the discussion when it comes to things like power and its attainment, so the wisdom is imparted and becomes ingrained, that power in and of itself is incomplete and poses a danger when used in isolation in the absence of wisdom.