I was wondering this, too. I'll take whatever you can sell me, almost out and am rationing.
Empowerment means many things to me. One is to remember there is always another way, and anyone who tells you different is either ignorant or trying to sell you something. We don't get to choose everything in our lives, but we can learn to choose as much of it as we can if we believe/understand that is possible.
flip answer: not letting the bastards grind you down
more-serious answer: empowerment is not just a personal thing. no matter how much individual power you have, you're still part of larger systems. the systems around you need to be in a state where your actions *can* cause the results you want. very rarely, empowerment involves taking action to change those systems. more often, the systems around you (friends, family, government, culture-matrix, neighbors, etc.) align so that when you reach for what you want, your actions can actually effect change in your life. so for me, 'empowerment' is the feeling that I *can* reach my goals, given enough work and time (i.e., that i have the resources i need and the systems around me are not actively working against me).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-03-15 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-15 01:03 pm (UTC)I need to get that (Melissa Ferrick, IIRC) at some point.
Off topic
Date: 2010-03-15 05:01 pm (UTC)Re: Off topic
Date: 2010-03-15 05:05 pm (UTC)Empowerment means many things to me. One is to remember there is always another way, and anyone who tells you different is either ignorant or trying to sell you something. We don't get to choose everything in our lives, but we can learn to choose as much of it as we can if we believe/understand that is possible.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-15 06:44 pm (UTC)more-serious answer: empowerment is not just a personal thing. no matter how much individual power you have, you're still part of larger systems. the systems around you need to be in a state where your actions *can* cause the results you want. very rarely, empowerment involves taking action to change those systems. more often, the systems around you (friends, family, government, culture-matrix, neighbors, etc.) align so that when you reach for what you want, your actions can actually effect change in your life. so for me, 'empowerment' is the feeling that I *can* reach my goals, given enough work and time (i.e., that i have the resources i need and the systems around me are not actively working against me).
no subject
Date: 2010-03-15 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-15 11:45 pm (UTC)