The Power of Understanding

I just finished reading Inheritance the last book in Eragon's series and it got me contemplating the power of understanding.

I'm not talking about understanding on a superficial level but REALLY understanding. Understanding Yourself. Understanding Friends. Understanding Enemies. Understanding Actions.

True understanding of yourself encompasses understanding your strengths and your weaknesses and can be difficult to

swallow because it requires letting go of your pride, but once obtained you have increased power over yourself. You have the power to grow and develop in ways or areas you couldn't have before and change your true nature. And isn't that what this life is about - developing our natures to be more Christ-like? We can't do that unless we understand our "natural man" the person each of us is when no one is looking. Once understood though we have the power to change ourselves through our actions over the course of time.

Understanding actions also brings great power. Understanding how your actions effect you. How your actions effect others.

How your actions effect the world at large. How a single action, a single misspoken word, a single hasty judgment, a single hello, single smile can have a lasting effect on you and those around you for good or bad. Think of how different the world would be if everyone took the time to understand the effect of an action not only on them but on those around them before they took it. Understanding how the actions you have taken in your life have effected the world truly can make or break a person.

What I learned from reading Eragon, Eldest, Brisinger, and Inheritance is that true power comes through understanding and

true understanding has the power to change the world. Even if it's just your corner of it.