Spring into Action
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb
For those of us in South Africa September is very welcome. After a long (well, 3 months of low temperatures is long to those of us in Africa) and cold (don’t laugh; sometimes it dropped to -4C at night, even though the days were a clear and bright blue) winter we are welcoming the arrival of spring with open arms.
This was a difficult winter. Once again, I observed in my coaching practice that the global, national and local struggles and uncertainty that we have been witness to are reflected in the more personal struggles and uncertainty of individuals. We are in a state of some turmoil in our country and this is unsettling.
But somehow, when the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, we are able to defrost a bit; to relax our shoulders, raise our heads and start to look around us again. And then we remember why we love this place, and all the people in it, so very much. And once we feel brighter, then things start to look brighter and, indeed, to become brighter.
The air is filled with the scent of fruit trees in blossom, the sound of birds happily building their nests, and the soft warmth of gentle breezes. There are countless shades of green on display as the new growth pushes through and we – in Johannesburg anyway – are eagerly awaiting the first rains. Not only to clean the air, not just so that we can get our thrills from the psychedelic thunderstorms, but also because it is only after the rains come that the Jacarandas bloom, decking the city in a sublime purple haze for weeks.
It truly is a magical time, a time filled with a sense of possibility and renewal.
As Rainer Maria Rilke says,
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.”
I am feeling very pleased that this month sees the launch of my revamped website. I hope that the new look captures the freshness and clarity that I experience at this time of year, and that I am feeling about my coaching and my work. You may notice that it is not a totally new website. I have made changes to the design and layout of the original one, and even to some of the content. But the spirit of what the website is, and why I set it up in the first place, remains.
I have changed HOW the website looks and feels, but the essence of it – the WHO of it, if you will – remains unchanged. Because I firmly believe that my role as a coach is to help my clients change not WHO they are, but HOW they are, I wanted my website to be congruent with that commitment.
A new season is a great time to make some life-enhancing resolutions and I have identified three things that will help to acknowledge and celebrate who AND how I am:
- I live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world (please forgive my bias) and I am going to spend as much time as possible enjoying the beauty of my natural surroundings.
- I am going to follow my passion of social development as a means to rebuilding our future, and put more time and energy into working with young people.
- I am going to follow another passion, working with groups, and offer more group coaching workshops. I will be offering three different workshops in the next few weeks - you can find out more about these here.
I am so excited about all this new growth that I am feeling like a child that knows poems right now!
What about you? How are you going to make the most of who and how you are?
I hope in this month that you are able to enjoy the poetry of the change of seasons, be it from winter to spring, or summer to autumn.
Love Judy