TRUE WISDOM AND POWER

TODAY'S QUOTE:
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. - Author Unknown

Most of this quote I agree with, but a small portion makes me a bit uneasy. I figure the author must have meant the mastering of others in the gentlest of fashion. I will have to miss out on any strength gained from being master of anyone besides myself. I suppose that once a person has suffered from being meanly mastered by another human being they just naturally shy away from that role. The shadow left by heavy hands may be covering a deeper meaning. If you, "get" that portion feel free to explore it with me here.

The mastering of self is very powerful and very possible. You cannot ease into it like you would slide behind the wheel of a car. It is tough love at its finest. The power to control our thoughts, feelings, and actions evolves in just that order. First you gain control of your mind and what enters there. Thoughts need to be managed... negatives ejected... depth increased... shallow notions take up too much space and reward us no grace. Spite and revenge steal all chance of understanding and peace. Once we have true control of our mind then managing our feelings is possible.

Emotions are like selfish children. When we allow them control then drama is certain. We often give in to them and end up acting out in ways totally foreign to our nature. There is nothing quite as destructive as a child throwing a fit. Let the child have control and the adult will have to clean up a mess they never intended to make.

I am not suggesting not to feel. I am saying to grow in understanding of why you feel... acknowledge the pain... validate the emotion, but do so with forethought. Never be satisfied to simply be controlled by a knee-jerk reaction to any negative emotion. Do not fight against the pain; some things are meant to be painful. Feel it, but do not become it. Do not build a monument at its base. Do not worship it by becoming its victim. With enough practice at controlling your thoughts and emotions then your actions will just naturally follow a saner pattern.  

There is true wisdom gained from self-knowledge. The better you know what makes you tick the more you empathize with others. And empathy is such a wondrous thing... almost magical in its ability to join souls together. We should all take time each day for some internal exploration. We have enough time to spare if it is of enough importance. We waste so much time trying to find peace from other people or joy from ownership of things. Why bother looking elsewhere for something that you can only find inside yourself? Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!