The Mountain, The Mind, and The Path: Lessons from Mount Kinabalu
Twenty-one hours of hiking Mount Kinabalu taught me more about self-care as a sensitive therapist than years of traditional training. This wasn't just a physical journey – it was a profound metaphor for the path of healing and growth.
If you've seen my Instagram video about Mount Kinabalu, you've witnessed a fraction of what matched the intensity of childbirth. It was both the most breathtaking sunrise I've ever seen and possibly the hardest thing I've done in my life.
True to my ADHD nature, this trip with my son and husband was spontaneous. Four weeks of training at Jacob's Ladder and Gooseberry Hill – that was our preparation.
The Ascent: Lessons in Energy Management
In the early stages, dopamine flowing and spirits high, I declared "I can understand why people get addicted to hiking!" But the mountain had other lessons in store. As oxygen thinned and muscles tired, each step became a conscious choice. Reality hit in the final 2 km on the first day. Each 100m felt like 500m as the steps required us to lift our legs higher with each stride. I learned that sustainable progress meant careful energy management – not waiting until depletion to replenish but maintaining steady stamina throughout. I ate my energy gel when I noticed the signs. Like therapy and self-care, sustainable progress requires careful pacing.
The Dark Hours: Walking the Inner Journey
At 2:30 AM, walking alone among scattered headlamps under starlit skies, the real inner work began. When my son needed to turn back to use the toilet, I was going to wait for them, but the guide asked me to keep walking slowly by myself. It was indeed an inward journey. When I met my son again halfway to the peak, he told me he was having monologues about Nintendo Switch and anime storylines while I was attending to my own story within. While 140 climbers tackled the same mountain that day, each lived their own reality based on their capacity, preparation, and mind's projections and mental images – much like our clients' unique healing journeys.
The Summit: A Bodhisattva Practitioner's Perspective
This journey deeply connected with my role as a Mahayana Buddhism-inspired Bodhisattva practitioner and therapist. The question echoed in my head, "Are you willing to take on challenges in service of collective awakening?" Many people have been asking me about my mission when I founded The Blossoming Therapists community. The Bodhisattva path is my mission – aligning with True Self with wide-open spaciousness while supporting others' awakening. We're called not just to personal liberation but to support collective awakening. It takes courage and practice of the Four Immeasurables – Equanimity, Loving Kindness, Compassion, and Empathetic Joyous Giving – to truly embody Bodhisattva spirits.
The Wise Guide's Teaching
My guide Johan's wisdom transformed my experience. With almost 30 years of experience, Johan shared his tips as I struggled and felt terrified of descending. With my wobbly legs, stepping down those slippery rocks after a few slips made me even more anxious. We also had to do a few sections of abseiling. "Ringan ringan," he said in Malay – be lighter with each step. Fear makes us heavy; trust makes us light. He kept telling me that I wore good shoes and that I could trust them. Indeed, Johan's tips helped me descend with greater ease. This truth applies perfectly to therapeutic presence and relationships with Self. Do you trust the process? Or do you let fear take charge?
The Descent: The Hidden Lesson
Perhaps the most powerful lesson came during descent. Despite my desire to help others, I couldn't maintain that support when my own resources depleted. This crystallized a fundamental truth: we can only guide others as far as we've gone ourselves. This mirrors our work perfectly – we cannot effectively guide others while depleted.
The Integration
This journey reinforced my core mission: to blossom into my True Self while helping others do the same. Like climbing a mountain, therapeutic work requires careful energy management, wise guidance, and the understanding that we can't help others when we're depleted ourselves.
Yes, I've cried many times in this hike as a sensitive therapist. Yes, my friend and I cried towards the end as we hugged each other and asked ourselves – would we do it again if we had a choice? Yes, absolutely, we both said without a doubt. This climb might have been another deeply transformative experience for me. And don't worry – we treated ourselves with a 3-day, 2-night stay at Shangri-La Resort after the climb. We all had our perfect balance of rest after such intensity of workout. Yes, I avoided the stairs as much as possible for a few days because I walked like a penguin after the climb!
