What is power?
It is money. It is physical strength. It is lack of disease. It is a resilient mind. It is the ability to resist temptation. It is good looks. It is charisma. It is having backup systems. It is social connections. It is family. It is stability. It is reliability. It is good food and the ability to continue to get good food. It is good sleep. It is resourcefulness. It is education. It is knowledge. It is a grasp of language. It is the ability to take a space and make it safe for those you love. It is peace.
Power is often regarded as inherently “bad” or “evil”. But power is but a tool. Everything listed above can be used for purposes you may call “good” or “evil”. You can use physical strength both to build a playground for your children and to steal something from someone weaker than yourself. You can use charisma both to brighten smiles and to spread hateful rhetoric. You can use social connections and language to bring out the best in those around you and foster a resilience community or as a weapon targeted at those you dislike. Power is a tool, it is that simple.
If you live intentionally, you will accumulate power. This is inevitable. This is not an evil pursuit, and it does not make you bad. Wielded well, you will very quickly find that people respond to power positively, and that some power begets more. It is shocking how progressing in one regard can cause other areas of your life to expand in power accordingly. Use it to make those around you safe. Spend your power on a sword and a rose. The sword to keep those that matter to you safe, and the rose to show them your love.
And then keep going until you die. I would wish for nothing else.