Who's Got The Power?

Agents of Everything - finding your power in a world that apparently has power over you

I’ve just recorded a podcast on ‘the strange power of strange loops’. It will be out in a day or two but, to give a preview, it is essentially looking at the apparent paradox of being at cause in a world we are apparently largely at effect to. Finding our power within conditions that may appear to have ‘power over’ us.

Power, I’ll admit, is a topic of great interest to me. In spite of the surface appearances of the word, it is not a simple concept by any means (and is likely not even a single unitary concept at all).

My interest in power has nothing to do with political or authoritative power directly - that is ‘power over’. My interest in power is personal and relates to everyday life (what Jurgen Habermas might call the ‘life world’ as contrasted with ‘the system’) - ‘power to’ rather than ‘power over’. That said, I am not naive as to the relationship between those two forms of power.

We not only live in a world of complex influences that we don’t get to control, but in a very real sense we are very much ‘of’ that world’. It influences who and how we are (and what we do) so deeply it could almost be said to create us. In such a world, a world that has so much apparent power over us, how can we have any power at all?

Well that’s the trick. And that is what Agents of Everything is about - finding and evolving our own power and agency within the milieu of complex influences that is modern life.

Much of this is about reorganising realities from the inside out - making new sense that illuminates choices previously unseen. Some of it is about developing specific skills (I will review some of my personal favourite ‘toolkits’ at various points in the future).

Now, here’s the thing - I want agents of Everything to become a phenomenal resource for anyone looking to up their agency and their ability to create in and with this world. This will absolutely happen best through conversation rather than some unidirectional, ‘fire-hose’ style delivery.

So, I would love to hear your voice in this. Your observations, your questions, your challenges, your disagreements! You can help evolve this by being a part of it, accelerating your own evolution at the same time. Generative discourse, baby!

AND there is no rule in the universe that says you must - if you prefer to quietly listen/read and muse that is all good. You can still support the project by ‘hearting’ posts/podcasts (but only if you got some goodness from them) and/or sharing them with friends you think might also get some value or enjoyment.

Thus far, thank you for being here and I look forward to seeing what we create together.

All the very best,

James Tripp