The country of Nepal, located in southern Asia, is best known for the majestic Himalayan Mountains. Mount Everest plays the starring role, as many seek to conquer its incredible height by climbing. To reach the top requires extensive training, the highest quality equipment, and an expert to guide you. Perhaps the most important of all three is the guide. In Nepal, these guides are called sherpas. These natives not only guide but carry the climber’s equipment, which is usually more than 100 pounds. In order to reach the top of Everest, a sherpa is a must.

We can compare the journey of life to that of climbing a mountain like Mount Everest. When we are young, we find ourselves at the base of the mountain. There’s really no need for specific gear, aside from proper walking shoes maybe. The journey is easy. As a child, we recover quickly from injury, get plenty of sleep, don’t worry much, and eat what we want.

As we begin our ascent, we may not even realize it because the incline is so slight. Yet, we are still moving forward in our journey of life, into our teen years and early adulthood. Many of us play sports, enjoying the intensity of it. But that also comes with more intense injuries from fractures, concussions, and even surgery to repair things. Again, we recover quickly. We are young. Eating what we want, when we want – like those midnight fast-food runs!

Climbing still further up that mountain, we begin to feel the incline. We need more gear to keep us moving forward. The sherpa is ready for this. In our life, our 20s and 30s mean career and kids. This also means lack of sleep, a more sedentary lifestyle, and a body that takes on a bit more weight than it should. But, it seems to be the norm for people your age so you just accept it.

As the climb continues, the oxygen levels get thinner, the temperature decreases, and the journey much more difficult. Thank goodness for the sherpa and all that extra gear. If only we had a sherpa in real life! Unfortunately, we are our own sherpa, carrying all the baggage we accumulate over the years. From extra weight from lack of exercise; fatigue from lack of sleep due to career, kids, hot flashes, pregnancy, and worry; to injuries we might have sustained from accidents or falls. In other words, life happens.

The good news is that we can choose to offload some of the “gear” we are carrying as our own sherpa through self-care. In other words, we can choose to lose that extra weight, we can choose to help ourselves handle stress through massage or working out, we can choose to resolve that pain we have been dealing with for years. A solution like this does not just happen. It requires a commitment to oneself and the desire for change.

DCW can be your sherpa in life. Helping you to offload extra “gear” that you really don’t need on your journey of life whether it be extra weight, chronic pain, or stress. The nature of your climb is in your hands.