This morning, I was on a call with others from the Global Coach Community, and there were so many brilliant moments that truly inspired me. We often talk about creating a business that feels authentic and aligned, but the prevailing paradigm tends to focus on structuring first and then fitting into that structure. I’ve spent a lot of my life living in boxes, separating myself based on what seemed appropriate rather than what felt authentic.

For years I said I had a fear of heights until I realized I love being up high. It was when a part of me would say, “that’s not safe, you will fall over the edge and get hurt” that the fear would kick in. This sounds like a mother talking to their child but the image in my head that went with that statement was me plummeting to an inevitable death. This was not being afraid of heights this was being afraid of falling

It is almost Winter Solstice, the time of year when the darkness holds us in an embrace even as the light slowly returns. As we eagerly wait for spring then summer, the darkness has an invitation for us: come rest, slow down, see differently. It is hard to see where you are going in the dark so you need to walk slowly, you need to be present not off in a future that has not materialized, you need to let your eyes adjust to this new way of seeing.

I woke yesterday knowing the world had shifted, that the physical world around me would look the same but I was going to see in a new way. The US election has impacts globally and this time feels pivotal in our collective journey.

Today is the Full Flower Moon, the name reflecting the abundance of blossoms found this time of year. This quote from James Wright's poem "A Blessing" caught my attention as this is the joy within me at different points in my life. You would think…

There is something compelling about seeing the world up close. Last year I got a macro lens for my phone and it is one of my favourite ways to explore the world around me.

You may be curious why am I sitting and playing Banagrams by myself (or maybe not but I still think it is worth reading the rest of this). I love playing this game because it reminds me that there is always a solution. Sometimes I need to rearrange the board to make different words but there is always a solution AND getting to the solution is fun as long as I let myself relax and not get wound up about it.

Yesterday I wrapped up a 29 year career with the Kamloops YMCA-YWCA, a lifetime of learning, growing, stretching myself, giving and receiving.  I am so grateful for how this organization and the people who are part of it have shaped my life. I will miss regularly seeing the colleagues I have worked beside but I know we are not far from one another.  Despite all the fullness I experienced there it is time to follow my heart and soul.

This week I got stuck. You know like you’re slogging through sticky clay silt at the edge of a river or lake. My thinking got stuck in fear of what is next and then I began trying to control things to make the fear go away. It didn’t work.

I have always thought there was such wisdom in this quote by Anais Nin “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” but in the last two years I have deepened into what is being said.

“Grief is the space where you are no longer” - Michele Walker

Yesterday we said goodbye to our 12 year old cat, Star. It was a difficult decision made easier because she let us know it was time to go and it was still a sad day.

I have a practice of doing imaginal journeys where I spend time listening to the wisdom of my inner self, my soul. I often ask if there is something I need to know and always there is an answer but since our souls, our unconscious often uses images and symbols to communicate there is a puzzle to workout the meaning. This week the answer I received was…

I had heard whispers for many years that I was called to walk in the world in a new and different way.  At one point I got the tattoo of a fiddlehead fern with YES reminding me to say yes to those whispers that start out small and grow into big and beautiful creations. I would make steps towards understanding what this meant for me but I would get stuck and stay there until I heard those whispers again, that tattoo reminding me to say YES.  Four years ago I began to move in the direction my Soul - my true self- wanted me to go. It has been a wild adventure of discovering myself and my calling. 

Flow

There is something about flow that speaks to the core of me and permeates everything. On my wonder today - the intentional listening walks in wildish spaces- I brought a question “Where do I see flow being blocked and how is flow reestablishing itself?”