When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service

Hear the words of Audre Lorde, poet, warrior, and voice of the marginalized, who declared: “When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” In these words lies a truth that pierces through the centuries: that fear, though ever present in the human heart, becomes small when measured against the greatness of purpose. She teaches us that power is not the absence of fear, but the choice to move forward despite it, guided by vision and strengthened by service.

The origin of this saying is bound to Lorde’s life as a Black woman, feminist, and activist in twentieth-century America, who faced oppression, illness, and constant resistance. She knew fear well, but she also knew that to remain silent was to surrender. Her power came not from banishing fear, but from daring to act in the face of it. For when she placed her strength in the service of her vision—a vision of justice, equality, and truth—the weight of fear diminished, and her steps carried her into history as a voice that could not be silenced.

History offers us echoes of this law. Consider the life of Harriet Tubman, who guided slaves to freedom through the perilous darkness of the Underground Railroad. Surely she was afraid each time she ventured into hostile territory, hunted by enemies who sought her death. But her vision—a vision of freedom for her people—was greater than her fear. She used her strength in service of that vision, and in doing so, she became a legend of courage. Fear may have walked beside her, but it never ruled her. This is the power that Lorde speaks of: the transformation of fear into a shadow beside the blazing fire of purpose.

The heart of Lorde’s teaching is that fear is not the enemy—inaction is. All men and women feel fear. The warrior on the battlefield, the mother protecting her child, the artist revealing her truth—all tremble within. But those who dare to be powerful rise above fear, not because it vanishes, but because it shrinks when compared to the strength of vision. To live by fear is to live small; to live by vision is to live vast, unafraid of whether the world applauds or condemns.

There is also here the call to service. Power, when turned inward for selfish gain, corrodes and collapses. But when strength is used in the service of vision, it becomes enduring, noble, and irresistible. Lorde reminds us that true power is not domination, but dedication: the force that pours itself into building a better world, into lifting others, into giving life meaning. Fear loses its grip when we realize that we labor not for ourselves alone, but for something greater than ourselves.

Consider also the story of Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who, at seventeen, led armies in France. She surely felt the tremors of fear as she stood before kings and generals, as she marched into battle, and as she faced the flames of execution. Yet her vision—that she was called to free her people—made her unstoppable. She dared to use her strength, and so she became a figure that no fear, no fire, could erase. Her life is a mirror of Lorde’s wisdom: when vision commands, fear becomes irrelevant.

The lesson is plain: do not wait for fear to vanish before you act. It never will. Instead, anchor yourself in vision, in purpose, in service. When you dare to be powerful—not for vanity, but for the sake of what you believe in—you will discover that fear is not a chain but a shadow. Every step you take weakens it, until it can no longer hold you back.

Thus, O seeker, carry Audre Lorde’s wisdom in your heart: dare to be powerful. Use your strength in the service of your vision, and let that vision outshine fear. For courage is not the absence of trembling, but the decision to rise anyway. And when you rise, fear itself bows before you, and your power becomes the beacon by which others find their way. This is the eternal teaching, passed down from the ancients, rekindled by Lorde’s fire, and entrusted now to you.