When a person dies, only good things are told of him. No funeral is complete without a eulogy in praise of one’s achievements in life. One however, does not have to wait for that day to enjoy the adulation of others. One only has to know the truth of law of absence and presence and skillfully employ it.
The sixteenth Law of Power emphasizes the use of absence to increase respect and honor. When a person has become too present, feelings of suffocation may arise, as in a relationship. Constantly being around stifles the imagination and excitement—there is no room to grow, nothing new to look forward to. Your loved one knowing everything about you early in the relationship might not be something to be happy about. What do you think? If so, how should one go about a relationship then?
This law also states that value can be created through scarcity. A rare jewel is priceless because of the fact that it is difficult to obtain. It’s the same with people. When one is constantly around, he becomes common, even something to resent.
However, one does not create absence at just anytime. This law can only be successfully realized when one’s presence has already been established. After all, you can’t miss something you don’t even know about, right? Deioces of Medea had realized this by first making a name for himself as an honorable, wise and just judge. It was at the height of his power that he completely withdrew from the justice scene. He made himself scarce, and because his skills were suddenly no longer available to people, they came begging for his rule. Had he withdrawn himself sooner, he would have only been forgotten, even resented. But what happens after that? What ways can you think of to keep interest or respect after the whole disappearing act?
There is an art of knowing when to retire. Observance of this law is like creating a kind of death before death and a kind of resurrection upon return. Establish your presence then, to avoid becoming someone common or taken for granted, know when to withdraw.
Yay, or nay? What are your thoughts? :D
<3 Patty Geollegue