Coaching for success with a soul
I can’t believe we are heading towards the Autumn equinox and the marking of the transition between seasons. There’s definitely that back to school/ work feeling in the air. This week I’ll be driving my son back to Brighton for the start of his final year at the University of Sussex. This year it’s a …
Cronk cronk… Cronk cronk… Cronk cronk… At the third of the rhythmic set of cries I stop, push the garden fork into the soil and turn. Of course, I know it’s a rook, but somehow there’s a depth in this particular call that makes the familiar strange, she has my attention. The tone and the …
Continue reading “Beyond Performance: Stillness as Action, Lockdown on the allotment”
Before COVID19 hit the UK, work for most of us was full on – with constant pressure to hit deadlines, manage shrinking budgets and be on call 24-7. When you’re that busy keeping your head above the water it’s hard to make time to contemplate your own wellbeing. However recent evidence shows that wellbeing at …
Written in the 13th century, this poem an oldie, but goodie. Though overused in mindfulness circles to the point of becoming a cliché, it’s still a beautiful reminder to meet, accept and respect the myriad of visitors I’ve been entertaining as COVID19 lock-down sweeps my house empty of furniture. So here’s a virtual cup of …
It’s Monday and it’s definitely not business as usual … My desk is the same, I was due to work from home today, so being here is no different, but I’m feeling very, very different. Priorities have changed, uncertainty seems to be the order of the day. This time last week I was in London …
I’m writing this at the Winter Solstice. It’s one of those still Dartmoor winter afternoons, there’s a blanket of motionless grey clouds and not a breath of wind. Earlier a buzzard wheeled lazily over our rooftop, the only movement in a sky where even the ubiquitous rooks were still and silent. Though it’s only 4:15pm …
Continue reading “At the still point of the turning year – solstice reflections…”
Granite. A glittering, resilient rock. The Barefoot Barn where we hold our Wise Goose Devon training programmes stands upon granite, the house I live in is built from it. Both overlook the huge granite plug of Dartmoor. Granite is one of the defining characteristics of this place. The moaning, whistling, howling or …
On ancient maps of the world cartographers, perhaps believing the world was flat, would write: ‘beyond here be monsters’. Fear of what lay beyond the edge of the known world kept their world small. Today we smile at how wrong this perspective is; we know that over that imagined rim lay whole new worlds. …
I have the quote above from Thomas Berry, scribbled on a post-it on my desk. Some days it brings out a smile and a sense of purpose. Some days it feels like a bad joke. I am a ‘glass half full’ person but as I look at many of the changes currently sweeping through the …
Continue reading ““The present is not a time for desperation but for hopeful activity.””
As the nights draw in and another year draws to a close, its a natural time to pause and reflect. I’ve been looking back and asking: Has this year brought me closer to the goals I’d imagined for Wise Goose this time last year? Have we made the most of the opportunities and the gifts that …