There are moments in life where no option feels right.

As a parent, I’ve found those moments particularly confronting because every choice feels loaded with consequence.

And I’m in one of those moments right now with Jenson.

After his mountain bike accident, the fearful part of me wants to wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him do jumps again. To remove the risk completely and control the outcome.

But then another question emerges:
What would I actually be teaching him?
And at what cost to our relationship?

Because the opposite choice carries its own ache too.

I want him to experience the freedom of doing something he loves. To be outside in nature with his friends. To feel alive in his own body and build confidence through challenge.

But that path comes with so much uncertainty too.

Another accident feels not just possible, but inevitable at some point.
And this is exactly the wisdom inside the story of the tethered camel.

The Parable of the Tethered Camel

See the tethered camel parable as a comic strip on my LinkedIn post here.

A man once asked whether he should leave his camel untied and simply trust God to protect it.
The reply was:

“Tie your camel, and then trust in God.”

The story points to something many of us wrestle with: the tension between control and surrender.

Some people lean toward passive faith:
“If it’s meant to happen, it will happen.”

Others lean toward total control:
“Everything depends on me.”

But wisdom often lives in the middle.

Do what is within your power.
Take practical responsibility.
Then release the illusion that you can control every outcome.

Because you can tie the camel.
But you cannot control the desert.
You cannot control fate, timing, weather, other people, or every unpredictable turn of life.

That’s the paradox of being human:
we are responsible for our actions, but never fully in control of outcomes.

So what did I choose?
Education.

• A mountain bike coach to help him improve technique and learn how to think about risk more intelligently.
• The highest standard of protective equipment.
• More conversations about awareness, responsibility, and decision-making.

Tie the camel.

And then I will have to loosen my grip on the part of me that believes love means controlling fate.

Because sometimes leadership; whether as a parent, colleague, or human is not about eliminating risk.

It’s about acting wholeheartedly without becoming imprisoned by fear.

One question

Where in your life are you trying to control an outcome that was never fully yours to control?

One insight

Overprotection can sometimes become fear disguised as love.

One action

Identify one practical thing that is within your control today.

Do it fully.
Then practise releasing the rest.

Remember insight alone does not equal transformation.
Stay accountable for your insight > action by sharing it with me. WhatsApp me the word accountability, I’d love to hear from you. https://wa.me/+442080584506?text=accountability

Keep opening up,
Hannah

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