True power

In January, I turned 50. I have a small empire of Little Buddha books and a nice record collection. A beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, beautiful sisters and beautiful friends. That's a lot, but that's it. No house of my own, no huge savings, no drive to sell my soul. Sometimes I feel powerless.

On July 4^th of this year, the United States of America will turn 250. While not strictly an empire, the US has been the dominant force in the world for a long time. Judging by their 750 military bases in over 80 countries, and their close links to almighty tech companies, it's difficult to imagine their dominance will change any time soon.

Looking at history, every empire once seemed invincible. The Romans with their vast army, pioneering infrastructure and limitless decadence; the Spanish with their naval power and tons of stolen silver; the Abbasids with their algebra, wisdom and slave trade. What did they all have in common?

All empires have eventually ended. First and foremost, because everything ends (check out Embracing Change, the recently published third part of the Little Buddha series). But no empire ever died from one day to the next. There were certain conditions present that allowed a final blow to cause the collapse. Observing past events, a pattern emerges:

A ruling elite captures a rising share of resources → ordinary taxpayers are squeezed → the empire might still seem rich, but the state grows poorer → people stop believing that those in power serve them → an external or environmental shock arrives → the weakened system can't absorb it.

Sounds familiar? Indeed, we're seeing the same pattern playing out once again, live in front of our eyes. The US is paying three billion dollars in interest on their debt – per day! The normal people need three jobs to pay the rent, while the billionaires play 'who has the biggest rocket'.

The US dominance might continue a few more years or even decades, but the cracks in the empire have become clearly visible. Each day, fewer people believe in America's greatness and Hollywood's promise of a Happy Ending. And so while the America-orientated West regards itself as a superior, well-advanced society, in truth the same primitive cycle is repeating itself. The main difference to other empires is technology: We are basically Romans with drones and mobile phones.

A very similar pattern can be observed in the human being. Death through cancer and heart failure is often the result of, but not the reason for illness. Stress has become the new pandemic: There is no time to cook proper food or to listen to a neighbour; no time to rest, regenerate, sit down, stare at the stars and simply be. And one thing is certain: Chronic stress, whether in an empire or a human being, will weaken the whole system.

There's a cycle of birth and death that rules everything in existence: people, kingdoms and planets. There's nothing we can do about it other than learning to gracefully accept what is. And yet, within this inevitable cycle, we are given opportunities to learn how to cultivate strength and happiness. Throughout history, there have been many saints and gurus telling us what's important, but the main challenges have always remained the same: respecting diversity, being present and loving the life we were given.

There's one thing though that often seems to be forgotten when it comes to maintaining a healthy system, be it in a country or a human. And that is, the need to be kind and gentle – with yourself.

Being stressed all the time isn't being gentle.

Growing too quickly isn't being gentle.

Fighting against yourself isn't being gentle.

The lack of gentleness is also reflected in most modern medical treatments. They are based on 'anti' – anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-depressant. While many of those treatments are welcome, especially in life-threatening situations, they should not become first choice. First choice needs to be to create a good level of harmony within the system, so that it's resilient. And yet far too often, forceful actions are used in an attempt to regain control when being stuck.

Empires and countries fall into this trap just as humans do. Think ICE using violence against US citizens; German police beating Pro-Palestine protestors; Argentina's President cutting public education and health; and so on and so on. It's difficult to find gentle actions in 2026. Is it surprising, then, that democracies are eroding?

I'm a multiple Capricorn, and Capricorns are known for their inability to relax. If there was an Olympic discipline of ambitious uphill hikes and self-criticism, Capricorns would win every medal. So far, in my 50 years of life, I haven't managed to be truly gentle with myself. But I'm learning more and more how important it is – and how futile it is trying to resist it.

Force hardens, and hardened things break.

Gentleness is true power.