Glossarium: Strenght.Love...

What, then, is strength? Strength is power—the authority to influence, to change, to redirect, to halt or to accelerate. Who controls the outcome in a street fight? Who holds dominion over another? The one who wields strength. To possess strength is to have power. You can harness strength to master your emotions—thus avoiding provocation and sidestepping conflict—or to triumph in a physical struggle. But that is only part of the picture: strength can be transferred, it must be managed, cultivated, and deployed wisely. Here we will not delve into occult practices, but will explore the essence of strength as it unfolds in the lives of ordinary people.
Why does evil beget evil, perpetuating an endless cycle of violence? Because strength gives rise to pain, and pain in turn breeds new, often destructive, force. In this context, pain is strength, and strength is pain. Those who inflict suffering in the name of discipline pass on the power of cruelty; those who master their own selfish impulses and emotions pass on constructive strength to others.
Strength has two directions—constructive and destructive—and different paths to attain it. Many pursue power by tormenting others or by pushing their own bodies to the limit, a pattern all too familiar today. “If you want peace, prepare for war”—for peaceful coexistence is itself a potent force, one that often emerges only after trauma, conflict, or oppression. Humanity has advanced through war and suffering, and no one doubts that a survivor of battle possesses an almost wordless authority over civilians.
Yet pain is inseparable from our existence. The most enlightened path to constructive power lies in empathy and compassion born of love. Loving another awakens our capacity to feel their suffering and inspires us to bring about positive change. All of us have yearned to transform our lives for the better—a yearning born of compassion rooted in love. Love itself is a form of strength, a force that transcends laws and limits.
Some equate love with pain—mistaking them as identical—and this confusion has spawned sects and dogmas. But pain is not love. We need not turn the other cheek to our own destruction, nor set the world ablaze in a “sacred fire.” Rather, by exercising restraint in each moment, we sow grace that will blossom in future encounters and in the generations to come. Love passes from one to another just as cruelty does, and every act of conflict or connection shapes the future.
The greater the strength, the greater the responsibility. Strength can take many forms and follow many paths, yet its nature depends on how it was gained. Power wrested through violence rules by fear—ineffective against one who has mastered their emotions. Power forged by emotional self-control ranks higher, for fear no longer governs the self-possessed. Power born of love grants sovereignty over one’s own destiny—and, by shaping one’s destiny, one gains the ability to affect the destinies of others.
Which brings us to love itself. If love compels you to care deeply for another’s plight—driving you to create, to devote your time and talent to alleviate it—then you understand, at some subconscious level, that this is your calling, even if you cannot yet articulate why. Love is the cause we have yet to comprehend; should you one day grasp it fully, that too will be an act of love. Subconsciously, love feels like well-being; consciously, it is the awareness of the cosmic design, of your place within this living web, and the yearning to know the Creator’s purpose.