From Lestat de Lioncourt (with extra bold emphasis added by moi):

"Precept #1 ---- Force begets force.

I thought about it, for such a simple statement bears ponderence. I thought about the word beget and and the biblical connotations, but ultimately, this is about the word force, which when you think about it begetting more force, can be applied in many situations.

Water, is a soft force that when rushing through a canyon or over rocks for years and years causes the force of their movement. In fact, the movement of rock deep beneath the earth shifting and crumbling in techtonic layers causes earthquakes. Force begets force.

One child throws a rock, his sudden ex-friend throws a bigger rock. Force begets force. Unfortunately this applies in our current world at war but I choose to remain mostly ignorant about that, so I won't go into comparisons. What I will do is this:

Let's look at the word FORCE. (Courtesy of Dictionary.Com)

1. physical power or strength possessed by a living being: He used all his force in opening the window.

2. strength or power exerted upon an object; physical coercion; violence: to use force to open the window; to use force on a person.

3. strength; energy; power; intensity: a personality of great force.

4. power to influence, affect, or control; efficacious power: the force of circumstances; a force for law and order.

Personally I like #4, just because it uses the word efficacious, but to be clear, in any one of these four definitions FORCE, is POWER of physical, mental (influence), or energy. Does it have to be super effective, earth shattering to be known or beget some other force? No. Say someone pokes your arm with one finger, well that is a force, and it rearranges just for a second, your atoms and blood and all kinds of good things! Fascinating, yes? Force begets force.

Efficacious Power. I LOVE THAT! Man, that is the phrase of the night. Let me hear ya say it brothers and sisters!

If FORCE can be BAD = BAD
"One cannot subdue a man by holding back his hands. Lasting peace comes not from force."
-David Borenstein

Then it is amazing but true that force can also be GOOD=GOOD! You know what I have said before about force. LIFE. ...... IS- NESS..... IS. Perhaps I can put it in a more modern context or flavor:

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together".~~Obi-Wan"

My response:

"EFFICACIOUS POWER! Power enough to produce the desired result without overpowering or under-powering and producing an insufficient result. Efficacious Power...it produces the most befitting effect. This is the sort of force we need to apply to our lives. We needn't necessitate more work than needed because that simply leads to unnecessary effort on our part and unforeseen consequences. If we can learn to apply this "Efficacious Power" properly, we can attain what we desire under desirable circumstances and EVERYONE can come off the better for it!"

Efficacious power. I had forgotten about it. Such a stunning phrase when first faced with it, too. For those of you who didn't read the dictionary for fun as a child, efficacious is an adjective meaning:

1. Marked by qualities giving the power to produce an intended effect
2. Producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect

Efficacious Power! Just saying it emboldens oneself. Efficacious Power! A reminder that we must constantly be applying ourselves to our surroundings lest we lose momentum. Efficacious Power! A reminder that too much effort can be just as hampering as too little. Efficacious Power! It is my new mantra. From now on, I will chant it when I feel weak and uncertain. It is a reminder that I must be constantly applying myself--whilst still taking the care to not overpower any given situation. Sometimes you just want to curl up into a little ball and forget the world. Sometimes you just want to grab a large mallet and attack the world about you. In the end, neither is very effective. We must be both gentle and fierce at the same time. It is a delicate balance, but I believe it is our natural state. That is why when we push ourselves too hard or too little, poor consequences follow.

Force begets force, and there is a sort of Law of Equivalent Exchange:

"Man cannot gain anything without first sacrificing something else. To obtain anything, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s Law of Equivalent Exchange."

(Gotta love how I managed to sneak FMA into this one!)

But seriously--think about it. Efficacious Power. Equivalent Exchange. You get what you give. Give too little, receive little in return. Give too much, receive much more in return. But it can be no guarantee that the extra bit you receive will be good. It's just like Newton's Third Law.

(And yes, I may be a bit mad if I am mentioning physics in such a loving way).

Efficacious Power--it's really the only way to go.