Power

"Standing on a street corner waiting for no one is power."

-- Gregory Corso

What the hell is Gregory Corso talking about? Most people think of power as money, connections, political, or physical, muscle. And yet, Corso is convinced that the mere act of dawdling on a street corner is power. With one particular caveat -- you must be waiting for no one.

Another way to say it is that power is the ability to move through the world in your own free and uninhibited way. If you feel like standing and observing -- not waiting, not longing, not expecting, just standing -- you simply do so. You don't worry about social convention, or what people might think, or even if it's snowing or raining. You just stand there. Content. Your power, calm and complete within you.

Long ago I was taught a great mantra or affirmation by a Catholic priest. He said that whenever you get confused or scared simply repeat, "The power of God is within me, the grace of God surrounds me." At the time I had a bit of trouble with the word "power." It reminded me too much of greedy industrialists and corrupt politicians, so I replaced it with "strength."

Now I see power as an internal attribute, as the energy of the Universe that resides within each of us. I have no problem with it, and I no longer confuse it with external positioning or egoic posturing. Still, I don't always allow myself to merely stand on the street corner. I think that there is somewhere I need to go. I convince myself that I'm wasting my time. I scatter myself hither and yon rather than stand in a simple place of power.

You see, anyplace you choose to consciously and calmly stand is your place of power. Street corner or farmer's field, mall parking lot or lake shore. The mere act of standing and observing can be a gathering of energy, a momentary meditation.

So, today, take some time out of your hectic schedule, or usual routine, to stand on a street corner. Observe all that is going on around you, but refuse to be pulled, either physically or mentally, in this direction or that. Just stand there, and reclaim your power to be.