Following on from yesterdays blog about Feeding your growth I came across this quote today which I wanted to share from Morgan Scott Peck’s book, The Road Less Travelled.
If one wants to climb mountains one must have a good base camp, a place where there are shelters and provisions, where one may receive nurture and rest before one ventures forth again to seek another summit. Successful mountain climbers know that they must spend at least as much time, if not more, tending to their base camp as we do in climbing mountains, for their survival is dependent upon their seeing to it that their base camp is sturdily constructed and well stocked.
The metaphor of a base camp feels apt in terms of the importance of tending to our self-care with one exception. As pointed out by Michael Neill in The Space Within,
‘Unlike the mountain-climbing metaphor, you take our basecamp with you on every climb. Whether or not you are aware of that fact is the only variable.’
It is so tempting to look outwards when we are seeking support, guidance, wisdom. The answer is ‘out there’ if only we look hard enough, speak to the right people, read the right books. The thrust of so many personal development books and workshops is in the opposite direction. To support us in reconnecting with what lies within. When we give it time, space and attention it is amazing what we discover.
Photo by Madhu Shesharam on Unsplash