A Position of Authority Scott Shaw

A Position of Authority

Scott Shaw

I think that it is always interesting watching the fervor in which people attack individuals in positions of authority -- particularly religious authority. This seems to be a byproduct of this modern, very litigious, society that we live in. The primarily cause of this is greed.

Let's face it, an attack on any person, in a position of authority, it is based upon two things. First of all, the person who is on the attack wishes to dethrone the individual they are attacking. They want to make them appear to be less, in the eyes of others.
Why do they want to do this? Because they do not believe the individual is worthy -- for whatever reason. What their ideology is based upon, however, is ego and insecurity. Why? Because a person who has achieved something in life has no need to behave in this fashion. They have accomplished what they have accomplished, are secure in that accomplishment, and, therefore, base their life from a perspective of self-worth. Thus, they have no reason to go after another person of accomplishment because they are secure in themselves.

As I always say, "You do not have the right to criticize anyone until you have, at least, achieved what he or she has achieved."

The second reason that an individual in a position of authority is attacked is because the person attacking wants money. They believe by going after this individual they will somehow remove the wealth they have achieved and put it in their own pockets. They do this, primarily, by suing.

I think that we have all heard stories about people being sued for whatever reason - you particularly hear about these situations when a person has some level of fame or notoriety. Maybe you have been sued?

I too have encountered this style of nonsensical situation. For example, this occurred to me when this one individual, who was lying about his martial arts credentials and was attempting to diminish mine, (an occurrence which, unfortunately, has become very prominent in the modern martial arts), threatened to sue me for stating that he was a liar. This guy was eventually discredited but, as we have discussed, he tried to make himself more by basing his reality upon lies and attacking me.

Another situation happened to me when a lady hit me with her car, when I was riding my motorcycle, and almost killed me. Then, she sued me. Of course, she didn't win. But, I mean how ridiculous was that?

Another, even more, amusing situation happened to me when a guy came up to me and was attempting to start a fight. Now, I am one of those people who avoids confrontations whenever possible, because they are generally so meaningless. But, just before it got physical, he said, "You're probably going to beat me up and after you do, I'm going to call the police, have you arrested, and then I'm going to sue you." At least he was honest. But, this society has gotten so ridiculous that you can't even go mano-a-mano anymore without the threat of a lawsuit.

People somehow assume that if they threaten to sue you, you will kowtow and give into their wishes. Whenever I have encountered these situations, I tell these people, "Go ahead," because at the end of the day, the only people who get rich from lawsuits are the lawyers. And, I just won't play that game. And besides, they would be pretty disappointed in the size of my bank account if they ever saw it anyway.

But, the point I am making is that this goes back to the whole concept of greed, at whatever level. A person who has not achieved anything of importance in their own life, and wishes that they had, wants what another person, in a position of authority, possesses. This is based upon any number of psychological insecurities and the lack of personal achievement.

The ultimate question is, "What does a person in a position of authority have that other's do not? And, why have they achieved what they have achieved, when other's have not?"

To answer, what they have is the one-pointed drive and focus to achieve. And, this is the primary reason why they have achieved what they have achieved. On the other side of the coin, the lack of this drive and one-pointed focus is what has caused others to not achieve and to fail.

I am not saying that everything that a person in a position of authority does is right -- far from it. What I am saying is that what caused them to rise up to their level of socioeconomic evolution is, "Drive," combined with a little bit of luck.

Drive is not something you can give a person. Some are born with it. Other's, simply focus their attention to the degree that they achieve what they want to achieve in life. But, once they have achieved their initial desired level of success, then they are confronted by those who want to see them fall from grace.

If you ever find yourself in the position of envy or wishing the demise of another individual, you have to ask yourself, "What does that person have that I do not? And, why have the achieved it, when I have not?" This is not a complicated question and the answer, if you are true to yourself, should come very easily.

There are positive people in this world and there are negative people. It is as simple as that -- yin and yang. Some people base their lives on helping others, while others sit around complaining and attacking others when they have no basis to do so. So, again, I get back to one of the primary points, "If you have not achieved what the person you are attacking has achieved, you have no right to attach them, because you are not living your life on the same level of existence as they are."

Damages
Many people have been programed by this modern society to believe that when they feel damaged by a person, in a position of authority, they are, thereby, owed money. But, what does money have to do with damages. I mean if you get in a wreck, the insurance company of the person who hit your car should pay for it to be fixed. But, once a car has been wrecked, it is never the same. And, this is the perfect example about life. Once something is broken, it can never truly be fixed. It can be bandaged and repaired. The scars can be covered up. But, the life is never the same.

This is simply the reality of this place we call LIFE. From each encounter, we emerge a changed and different person. Sometime this is a good experience; sometimes it is not. But, the reality of it is, we are changed. What we do with the change is up to us.

Many people, who are on the leaving-side of a relationship, are very bitter. What they wanted, a happy life, forever-and-ever, did not happen. So, they are very angry with their partner and they want to get even. This is particularly the case if the person they were in a relationship was a person in a position authority. They want revenge.

I was just reading about Swami Kriyananda and how he got sued by a couple of his devotees who he apparently had sex with. Now, back-in-the-day, if you wanted to have sex with somebody, you did. And, that was that. You didn't sue them if they didn't answer every need and desire you ever imagined.

I mean, Get real people! You are adults! You can make choices! Just like everyone one else can make choices. If you make the choice to have sex, you made that choice. Nobody forced you into it. It was just a choice you made. If you feel guilty, bad, or whatever afterwards, that is your fault. Live with it! If you are in a relationship, at whatever level, and the other person chooses to leave, that is their choice. People have the right to make choices.

We all make our own choice in life. Some are good, some are bad. Some we wish we hadn't made. But, it is you, individually, who made that choice. You cannot later blame a person and sue them because you are sorry about the choice you made. That is so empty, so irresponsible, and it means that you are not, "Owning," anything that you have done. It is very unspiritual.

I have read so many times about this person suing that spiritual teacher, because they had sex. Now, I am not discussing the sick priests who mess with young children or the pseudo religious pundits who lead their flock into prostitution or mass suicide. But, in all other cases, you are an adult. You make your own choices.

If you later regret being with a person, you have to ask yourself, "Why did I want to be that person in the first place?" The answer will probably be that you were attracted to them because they were in a position of authority and it made you feel special that they wanted to be in a personal relationship with you.

Own your choices! And, quit trying to make other people pay when they choose to no longer be with you.

An extreme example of this is this very beautiful girl who worked as a waitress at a restaurant I used to frequent. I didn't see her for a time and then she returned. Her face was mangled. And, when I say mangled, I mean mangled. Apparently, she had gotten involved with a seedy guy who was really into drugs and he flipped the jeep they were driving in, out in the desert. What happened to him, I do not know. But her…

She moved on with her life. As she was a waitress, she had no health insurance and a limited income, so she could not afford extensive plastic surgery. Yet, I would see her, waiting her tables with a smile on her face. She was always happy.

I often wondered how anyone could do that -- go back to a place where everyone remembered her beauty and pretend nothing was wrong. Yet, she did it. Eventually, she got married and had some kids and her life moved forward. If someone can overcome that, who are any of these people to claim that some individual caused them some sort of unbearable damage, simply because they no longer wanted to be them and moved forward onto a new relationship?

It is like all of the jilted wives (or husbands) of movie or sports stars that you hear about. In their divorce they expect to get all of this money, cars, houses, or whatever from their former spouse. But, why do they deserve it? What did they do that was great or notable? All they did was marry someone and the relationship eventually fell apart. Why should they get half or more or the person's estate? They accomplished nothing. Because," I put up with the person," is not a qualifier. That is simply what you do when you enter into a relationship -- put up with somebody; good or bad.

It is like the story one of my teachers, Swami Satchidananda, used to tell. He would say, "Relationship are like doing business. As long as you say, 'I love you, honey.' They will respond with, 'Oh, I love you too.' But, the moment you say, 'I don't love you anymore.' They answer, 'Then, I hate you.' But, if love is love then you would love a person whether they loved you or not, no matter what. But, this is not the case, love is a business."

This is the same condition of life. People turn to a person in a position of authority because they like their teachings, their qualities, their success, their whatever. But, just like in love, when they are in their early stages of admiration, they are infatuated and blind to all the faults of this individual. And, believe me, we all have faults; we all have a personality, even the most so-called holy.

So, number one, if you want to seek out a person in a position of authority, understand that they are human, just like you. They possess hopes and desires, just like you. To achieve them, they may build upon their position of authority. If you are willing to give into their desires, that is fine. If not, you have the ability to say, "No." Don't blame them is you say, "Yes."

Secondarily, if you have some form of experience, with an individual in a position of authority, that you came away bruised and damaged from, you must realize that it was your own set of desires that led you into that situation. As such, there is no one to blame but you. Own that fact and quit trying to shift the blame away from your own desires, mindset, and hopes for the outcome of your life.

Finally, if you are on the side-lines and hope to move away from them, you will never be able to base any achievement on the meaningless attacking of a person in a position of authority. All this type of behavior does is to make you look envious, which is never attractive on any level. So, don't do it.

Whether are not you ever ascend to the level of those you either admire or hate is not important. What is important is that you live a life based in the realization of your own perfection. It is essential to note that attacking people will negate anything you may achieve.

Yes, you may love this person. Or, yes, may be a little bit jealous about what a particular individual has achieved and think you can do it better. Well, if you can, than do it. If not, then, be silent. Live you own perfection.

Do what you do, to the best of your ability and then all life moves to a much more conscious plane of existence and this world and this universe are left to embrace its own natural suchness. This is Zen.

Scott Shaw.com