The climb is all there is

Jon Snow and Ygritte looking over Westeros after they climbed the wall The Climb (S3 E6) - Game of Thrones

Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, are given a chance to climb. They refuse, they cling to the realm or the gods or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.

Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish

I woke up this morning thinking about this epic scene from Game of Thrones. There are two takeaways from this dialogue:

  1. That choas is a ladder. Many people opt to stay within their comfort zones and never even attempt the first rung.
  2. All you can do is keep climbing. Even if you've reached the top, you're never satisfied-- all you can think of are more heights you could reach.

When everything seems a little broken in the world these days, there's comfort in knowing that all you have to do and all you can do is focus on reaching for the next rung.