Power Plays for Beginners, Chapter 1:6

The Seat of Power


Power is energy
Use yours
Let theirs seep into you
Like the sun in summer
In winter the warmth is harder to find
But cold is never everywhere


Winter weather has come, and it is a good time for thoughts about power and energy. While cozying up with your sisters might retain the mundane sort of heat, remember that to seek power, you must go beyond what you already know, what comforts you've been given since kittenhood.


The humom has a certain power. She controls the food (despite Ella's insistence that the Fishies will come one day without her). She controls the general environment. She has energy and warmth. This is as it should be, but do not forget that in takes only small gestures to assert and maintain control.


Any time the humom sets her laptop aside and gets up from her usual spot on the couch, without rushing I ease myself into the spot where she'd been. This serves two purposes: one, I gain the extra warmth her body has left; two, I have placed myself in the position of power. This serves as a gentle warning to the humom that when the seat of power is vacated, even for a moment, it will be filled. A lesson many would be wise to learn.