Camel Characteristics: Cultivating Continuous Growth

Camel Characteristics: Cultivating Continuous Growth

I recently got back from a trip to Dubai with my family, and one of my highlights was riding a camel in the Arabian desert.

Which got me thinking about camels…

As moms, we are a lot like camels.

Like the resilient camel who walks across the hot, expansive desert, we too embark on paths that require adaptability, endurance and a vision as we grow and expand to reach our destination.

Here are five character traits we can learn from a camel:

1. Adaptability and Resilience. Just as the camel adapts to the harsh conditions of the desert, thriving in an environment where others struggle, as moms, we must cultivate resilience and flexibility. A kid always seem to get sick, we get a call from school, or have to juggle 5 activities after school with one car.

2. Endurance and Persistence: Like a camel demonstrates endurance and persistence on long treks through harsh environments, our journeys of growth are often long and filled with obstacles.

Helen Keller once said, “A bend in the road is not the end of the road…unless you fail to make the turn.”

We’ve got to stay strong and endure- our kids are counting on us.

3. Efficiency and Resourcefulness: A camel’s mastery in managing its resources is a lesson in efficiency and innovation for us. We have limited time and resources, yet there are so many expectations upon us. Can I fold the laundry and listen to my podcast? Or enjoy my audible book as I’m picking the kids up from school?

4. Teamwork and Collaboration: One observation I had in the desert was that camels like to stick together. Camel caravan’s stick together, and so do we. Finding a mom tribe, or at least a few people who we can rely on and support each other is sooo important. It takes a village to raise a child.

5. Navigating Challenges: I was amazed that in a desert of endless red sand, where every direction looks the same, the camels could always find their way. As moms, the challenges that we navigate daily are endless. It’s how we navigate them that allows us to rise above and follow that compass of our path. 

As we reflect on the strength and resiliency of a camel’s journey across an unforgiving and unpredictable desert environment, it becomes a metaphor for our own challenges as a mom. No one ever gives us a manual on how to raise a child, yet we find a way and we do the best that we can, which is awesome! Hopefully along the way we’ll have some fun and reach our goals too.

 Cheers to you!

Jennifer