Maria Popova's newsletter (recently renamed ‘The Marginalian') brings to my iPad every week the most exquisite writing in easily digestible morsels. This quote by Joan Didion in a recent newsletter made me hesitate:

 

“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us….”

 

These words make a connection to the inner transitionary shifts I have noticed in my way of being as we travelled through the various stages of the pandemic. Sometimes the changes were decisive and dramatic requiring an immediate response, as in the need to rapidly up-skill in online facilitation; while others have been more meanderingly deceptive. Others still have been joyful and enriching.

  A recurring theme on social media as we journey through the Pandemic lockdown is a renewed sense of connection and wonderment with the natural world. While fear and anxiety simmer under the surface, the joy of spring transitioning into summer has the potential to soften the impact. Without the usual distractions many of us have found ourselves connecting with nature in a different way. The burgeoning of new life brings hope. Confirmation, that despite the interruption in our lives, the natural world is unfolding as it should. A reassuring reminder that, as with the changing of the seasons, this pandemic will pass.   The Systemic Principles Embodied in Nature Principles of natural order maintain coherence and support flow in living systems. These principles – time (who or what came first), place (our belonging in a system) and the balance of exchange (reciprocity) – were first described by Bert Hellinger, the father...

Launching an independent consultancy and coaching business after years in the NHS can be daunting.  One year on and this ancient Buddhist wisdom sums it up:

"If we are facing in the right direction all we have to do is keep on walking".

Perhaps in my case it should be 'keep on rowing'! 

My first year was one of discovery and delight.  Discovery in terms of exploring how to transfer what I learnt in the public sector to this new business context and delight in learning what my clients value most.