I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet and legs dangling in the water. I was watching my boys play a game in the pool. There was a platform that a waterfall came out from. The kids had started by sitting on the platform as if it were a bench and letting the waterfall flow over them. That quickly transitioned into them standing up on the platform and letting the water flow over them. Which, quickly turned into a game of King of the Hill. They would swim up and try to climb up and overthrow the King who was standing on top of the platform. They tried different tactics, each man for himself and then partnering up and using a team tactic to overturn the King.
I sat with my feet in the water watching them and enjoying the sounds of their laughter as they played King of the Hill. Eventually, my mind drifted from the game that my children were playing to some of the trainings and containers that I had been in. In some of the containers and trainings, I had watched one person stand on the top of a platform pushing people back down into the water as they tried to climb up next to the trainer. Always creating and holding a sense of hierarchy. I had also watched on multiple occasions in multiple containers people swimming up to the King on the Hill and trying to pull them down so that they could take their place.
I got lost in thought about what creates this sense of drive inside of people. Why is it that people want to stand on the top of something, a business, a group, a spiritual container, a job and try to push people down?
On the flip side, why do people want to pull someone off from a platform and climb up themselves?
I had recently been in training where the facilitator of the training refused to engage with King of the Hill energy. She just wouldn’t play. She would reach down and grab other womens hands and try to pull them up next to her.
“Here, put your foot up on this and climb up” she would say as she scooted over to make room for them. She had done a lot of work around abundance vs scarcity and she was sitting solidly in an abundance mindset. She knew that there was enough room for everyone and that all of the women could stand up next to her and she would still have enough water.
What would life be like if more people did work around abundance vs scarcity mindset? What would life be like if people were not threatened by other talented individuals?
A loud screech pulled me away from my thoughts and back to the pool. My boys were laughing as one of them lost their position on the top of the platform and a new one gained the power and position of King.