I've just read a blog, a brilliant one, by Kimberlynne Fox of the USA. It struck a chord with me, because everyone has a fear that they have to overcome. Hers is one of social contact, and I can't blame her - it's scary, striking up conversation with someone you don't know!
Conquering my fears, however, required quite a different situation. It was on the Epic, a sixteen-day camp in the nearby Cederberg, a nature reserve some two hours from Cape Town (by car) that contains 70% of the world's fynbos, the Afrikaans word for fine bush, the Sixth Floral Kingdom. The Epic is a fantastic experience - it forces you to take into account who you are, and what you are capable of, and what you think you are capable of - often those last two are rather different. For me, it involved climbing the small "Wolfberg Crack", a dark, enclosed space, fairly high up in the mountains. I am claustrophobic, and suffer from vertigo, so I wasn't keen to climb it (as it was optional) but after sweating it out for a bit, I took the plunge, and succeeded in doing what I feared.
Relevance to EVOKE? Well, for many people, social contact is what they fear as much as I hate small spaces - and this site, amongst a few others, is like the Hike Leader who said, "Frightened? Here, stand on my shoulders, and I'll boost you up," just making the difficult journey that much easier. In a way, this also reflects how having a friend, or several, is so important to succeeding at anything, let alone that which makes us quiver. The key point of this article? Get a friend, and see how much any challenge becomes when you've got a smile and a hand at your shoulder. Go get 'em.
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke