Dark, wet and dreary “ in such an environment, where else could beauty and joy be cultivated daily?
From one of the longest and driest summers in history to one of the darkest and wettest Decembers on record, the weather of the Pacific Northwest has thus far provided me with enormous 
opportunity to find joy and beauty in the moment. It was a tough, first couple of months, but I think I’m getting the hang of it!
I found that when I focused on the gloomy, depressive grey, the lack of sunshine and being in total darkness by 5pm, it was terribly difficult to find anything to be happy about. But, my spirits lightened by getting outside every day with Gracie. I began noticing changes and shifts in the tiniest of details, like how green and abundant the mosses had become, how the rain water collected in the driveway, making rivulets and little streams; the hundreds of tiny Nuthatches and Junco’s wrestling in the pine trees to dislodge the cones to eat on the ground. There’s a tree just outside the Island Market “ our local grocery store, that has pink blossoms, and it’s hard to believe, but my friend, Ron, has roses growing just outside his office window. As I stopped focusing on the dark and dreary of the next four months, a more joyful life opened up to me.
There an incredible richness of beauty to be experienced in nature when we bring our presence into each moment. It’s not uncommon to want the world we see outside our windows to reflect sunshine, beauty “ things that create happy thoughts and happy feelings. But, what if the world outside your window is full of despair, devastation or just plain dreariness. How is it possible to experience delight, contentment or even peace in a world that doesn’t reflect our desires or even the hope of our desires being fulfilled?
I’m grateful that my community hasn’t been touched by tornadoes, hurricanes, war or tsunamis. I’m not going down the "Be Grateful" track here, though that is a very valuable practice. I’m going down the path that asks: What are you expecting and assuming you’ll see, sense or experience today? What goes unnoticed because your thoughts take in the dismal and the bleak?
I miss so much by staying within my assumptions and expectations. I numb myself out by brooding, by focusing on work or TV. If I don’t put on my rubber boots and head out into the wet, disturbingly dark of winter’s day, I’ll devoid myself of a gladdening of heart. Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it?
Going out and Going in
As true as it is in going out “ it’s also true about going in! What I mean is that when I intentionally endeavor into the dark and dreary of my humanness I usually find some aspect of myself that I’d not detected before. I can nudge and prod a bit to unearth more of its true nature, and I’m enlivened by my discovery. These adventures turn me back into the more hopeful and curious child-self I used to be. It allows a more playful way to be in my world. This is a very good thing!
“This is a Wonderful Day. I’ve Never Seen This One Before.” Maya Angelou
As some of you know, as soon as I step out the door, I’m immersed in nature and am presented with any number of adventures. My intention is to allow my gaze to find the unusual in the usual. I see it as discovering beauty, though it doesn’t have to be beautiful. Seeing the uniqueness of what’s present in this season, in this weather pattern, in this time of day, well it does something to my heart that doesn’t occur any other way. The other night, on my nightly walk with Gracie, I turned off my flashlight and stood amongst the darkness and the silhouettes of the trees. I’ve come to do this as a ritual, saying hello and thanking the trees for their constant presence. After a few moments, I clicked on my light again. The lamp shone on a patch of moss and tiny ferns, glistening with drops of rain, from earlier in the evening. Reflecting the light, they looked like diamonds in the dark “ and I wept to see such beauty where I least expected it.
Consider that, if we allow ourselves to be offended by the weather, what other elemental aspects of being human influence our moods and interfere with our capacity in experience joy? It’s all an amazing adventure, isn’t it?
If you haven’t been to Orcas Island, or you haven’t been here for awhile, I’m sharing an exquisite video that my friend, Denise Thomasin Dunes, created. http://www.lalimalove.com/ She is an amazing photographer!
What’s New and Cool!
My newest book is now available on line. Dilemmas of Being Business is at Amazon and at Smashwords in e-book form. It will be available as a hard copy soon! I like this book, and think it worth take a look at, because it does a very good job of sharing dilemmas that are experienced universally in every business environment. Regardless of your role in the business world, you face dilemmas every day. Dilemmas of Being in Business describes what creates these dilemmas, the choices being faced and what’s required to choose differently in service to bringing your highest and best contribution to your professional and personal life. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Cultivating an Enlightened Coaching Practice – A Teleconference
Beginning January 15th I’ll be facilitating another coach training practicum titled: Cultivating an Enlightened Coaching Practice. It is a six-week teleconference training practicum focused on increasing the bandwidth of ability and capacity of individuals who already support people on the edge of their transcendent process.
In service to bringing the highest possible contribution to our clients, this course examines the outer reaches of our humanity and expands our coaching skills and practices. This deepens our listening as thinking partners to encompass the full-spectrum of wisdom that we know ourselves, and our clients to be. We will be cultivating a knowledge base from which to fully understand how we generate our current circumstances, how our emotional response mechanisms draws our specific life experiences to us, the symptoms of this process, which often slow or stop the momentum, and how to empower our clients to manifest the results they are truly desiring. More than half of our time together focuses on actual client work of the participants. Fee is $390. The maximum number of participant is 10, and there are just a few spots left “ really!
For more information, or to register, please contact me at rosie@dr-rosie.com, or call me at 360-376-4323.
Colorado Retreat
If you are thinking about a getaway in February, how about considering a working retreat in Colorado. As I mentioned in my previous email, Elynn Light, Master Intuitive Healer and I will be co-facilitating this 3-day retreat outside Boulder from Feb. 21-24th, entitled Out of This World Healing and Coaching Retreat. By increasing awareness of vibrational resonance in yourself as you work, you’ll empower yourself to confidently empower your clients to shift their current paradigm “ one that allows the fullest expression of their essential selves. We invite coaches and healers who have experienced the call to bigger work in the world to join us. For more information contact Rosie or go to: http://dr-rosie.com/out-of-this-world.
Cultivating Enlightened Coaches Retreat in California
You can see there is a recurring theme here! The weekend of March 29-30, I’ll be facilitating a workshop/retreat in Woodside, CA, just outside Palo Alto. Much like the Colorado retreat, I’ll be focusing on engaging participants into a deeper conversation and expanding the bandwidth of what we believe to be consciousness and coaching to these higher levels of consciousness. For more information about this event, email me or call me at 360-376-4323. The Fee for this retreat will be the same as for the Boulder Retreat.
Considering Coaching, Training or Supervision?
I’m making room for more clients these days, so if you have a desire to experience more self-empowerment for the work you are doing personally or professionally let me know. I’d love to support you! Email me!
I so appreciate you allowing me to stay in touch with you in this way. Many blessings to you!
Rosie
