Academic Acrobatics: Self-care for mutual support
At a recent research away day, attendees were prompted to reflect on their personal values and share an image that could represent these. The image I shared was based on the picture shown above, and was inspired a story from Buddhist teachings called the Sedaka Sutta . In the teaching, the Buddha describes two acrobats who were talking about how best they should work together: Once upon a time, monks, a bamboo acrobat, setting himself upon his bamboo pole, addressed his assistant Medakathalika: "Come you, my dear Medakathalika, and climbing up the bamboo pole, stand upon my shoulders." "Okay, master" the assistant Medakathalika replied to the bamboo acrobat; and climbing up the bamboo pole she stood on the master's shoulders. So then the bamboo acrobat said this to his assistant Medakathalika: "You look after me, my dear Medakathalika, and I'll look after you. Thus with us looking after one another, guarding one another, we'll sh