What is the nature of coopetition? For approximately 150 years our society has evolved around Darwin’s theory of evolution. Simply, it’s a theory that suggests that organisms with the strongest and most desirable characteristics are best able to survive and reproduce. What is commonly known about it is that Darwin witnessed competition in nature, survival of the fittest. The lion hunting the gazelle, cubs fighting for their share of the food, etc.
While this is true on a micro level, Darwin also noticed that on a macro level nature was working in perfect cooperation. The lions are necessary in hunting the gazelle, because otherwise the gazelle’s population would explode, and they would eat all the grass, affecting the soil’s ability to maintain water, which would then affect the rivers, which affect the seas, killing marine life, which unsurprisingly kills the plant life on land, and on and on. There is a symbiotic relationship in nature, an actual oneness to it all.
Coopetition is the space where competition and cooperation meet. If we take a tree for example, as the roots dig deeper into the earth, the leaves reach higher into the sky, moving in opposition in order to bring more strength, balance and oxygen to the trunk.
When we realize that energy, love and sex are abundant, the need for pure competition begins to fade away. We can continue to inspire one another to greatness, for the betterment of the group, community, society, etc. The need to be the sole winner or at the top alone no longer serves us. We can lift others up while being raised up ourselves. We can give without limitations, and quickly see how the giving is the receiving. We can begin to release feelings of jealousy, not enough, or loneliness, as this abundant mindset sets us free of those shackles.
