13 Oct Empowerment – The definition

Empowerment

noun.

1. The giving or delegation of power; authorization
2. The giving of an ability; enablement or permission
3. A global movement in truth, integrity, respect, discovery of self and the enrichment of lives; Empower House’ mission.

John Milton may not be a name that rings bells for you, unless of course you have a thing for dead English poets from the 1600’s, but you are more familiar with his work that you may realise.  He’s most famous for being the blind guy who wrote the epic poem about heaven, hell and the failure of the English revolution called “Paradise Lost” but he also added over 600 words to the English Dictionary. Just to put that into perspective for you – Shakespeare only added 229 – pretty crazy, right? Admittedly, at the time the English language was new and much more flexible than it is today so if the writers of the time couldn’t find a word, they would make one up. Which is where John Milton’s gifts to the English language come in.

The words Milton coined along the way came in five different forms. New meanings for existing words – he was the first to use the word space meaning ‘outer space’; adapting existing words into new words by turning a verb into a noun or adjective, like stunning; he created the negative form, such as unnoticeable and irresponsible; he compounded words, such as self-delusion; and made completely new words, like pandemonium and debauchery.

Which brings me to my point! John Milton originally used a form of the word empowerment in the poem I told you about earlier, Paradise Lost, back in the 1650’s. He wrote,

“Thou hast atchiev’d our liberite, confin’d,

Within Hell Gates til now, thou us impow’rd

To fortifie thus farr, and overlay

With this portentous Bridge the dark Abyss” (book 10, verse 368-371 in case you want to look it up)

So, the word itself isn’t a new concept, it comes from Latin meaning to grant or give a person access to power. The French were even using the word ‘empowerment’ in the 1800’s in reference to the need for freedom to live their authentic lives free from oppression. Empowerment has become popular more recently but it seems the true meaning of the word tends to be lost among the selfies, sales funnels and snapchat filters that have become our social media.

You may have noticed that the third definition of empowerment at the top of the page isn’t in the Dictionary (if you didn’t notice it then I encourage you to go back and have a read now). I’ve taken the liberty of creating my own definition for the word, taking a leaf out of Milton’s book if you will, because that’s literally what the word is about… Empowerment is taking your power, giving yourself permission to live authentically and with integrity and in doing so you are allowing others’ to do the same.

So, in case you still need it, here is your permission to go ahead and be yourself. Be integrous, create, contribute and encourage others to do the same.

Lauren xxx