Game Of Thrones

     I am currently entrenched in the literary series   “Game of Thrones.”  Rather timely I think, as we look at the current power struggle before us throughout the world and with the upcoming national election looming. It has lent me to think about the world today and how we struggle to keep power and control in our pockets and tied to our dreams.

     I suspect that from the beginning of mankind, power and control oozed from our genetic code.  Darwin recognized the survival of the fittest as it plays out in the evolution of all species. Yet, with this knowledge, one would think we would gain some insight into harnessing power and control at a higher level. We have not and we are still their beasts of burden. But we live in a world where random killings are a reality when one feels total lack of control, feels as if they no longer carry any power over their own destiny. I am not making any excuses for these heinous acts but rather I am trying to make sense of such senselessness. The final statement of such death, the ability to determine the end time of another’s life- such a defined moment.

     It is an intoxicating high to obtain power. Kings and queens have tasted its sweetness and killed many to retain its glory. Heads of State around the world also have been swept up in its wake, determined in conquest . Yet, you and I, the little people, we too have had our moments of power. The moments of feeling in control of our environment the satisfaction overwhelming it can blind us. While we may feel power over others at work, at home, or in the community…we need to not lose sight of what responsibility that power carries. We become the kings and queens and our words become sharp and heavy and able to cut deep and smash the spirit of those around us. Is that what we so strive for? By trampling their soul do we climb higher?

     In the deepest sense of living, no one shall have power over your soul. Control is conceptual, it is dependent upon how you perceive your own world and your place in it. Some day, some time, we may understand how giving others the sense of power and control may actually return the gift. We may understand that lifting others above ourselves rather than trampling them down below us, is a pure high. But not today, today we cling to power tightly, dream of control and plan our strategy to conquer and have it all. Yes, the ultimate game of thrones.