Usually, when we think of power, we think of external power.

And we think of powerful people as those who

have made it in the world. A powerful woman isnt necessarily someone who has money, but we think of her
as someone with a boldness or a spark that makes her manifest in a dramatic way. When we think of a power-
ful man, we think of his ability to manifest abundance, usually money, in the world.

Most people say that a powerful woman does best with a powerful man, that she needs someone who under-
stands the bigness of her situation, a man who can meet her at the same or even greater level of power in the
world. Now this is true, if power is defined as material abundance. A woman often faces cultural prejudice
when she makes more money than a man, as does he. A woman who defines power by worldly standards can
rarely feel totally relaxed in the arms of a man who doesnt have it. If power is seen as an internal matter, then
the situation changes drastically. Internal power has less to do with money and worldly position, and more to
do than with emotional expansiveness, spirituality and conscious livingI used to think I needed a powerful
man, someone who could protect me from the harshness and evils of the world. What I have come to realize is
thatthe powerful man I was looking for would be foremost, someone who supported me in keeping myself
on track spiritually, and in so maintaining clarity within myself, that life would present fewer problems.
When it did get rough, he would help me forgive.

I no longer wanted somebody who would say to me, Dont worry honey, if theyre mean to you Ill beat them
up or buy them out. Instead, I want someone who prays and meditates with me regularly so that fewer mon-
sters from the outer world disturb me, and who when they do, helps me look within my own consciousness for
answers, instead of looking to false power to combat false power. Theres a big difference between a gentle
man and a weak man. Weak men make us nervous. Gentle men make us calm.

Marianne Williamson