What Lies Beneath

While walking on the beach yesterday, my friend and I stopped at Rudee Inlet to watch two men fishing.  They had big, round, flat nets with little weights woven into the edges and two long rope handles.  They would gather the nets into a compact bunch, wade out into the water and then toss them high and far so that the net would expand before hitting the surface of the ocean and sinking.  The men would wait a minute or two before pulling the handles to close the net and bring it to shore.  They would then open the net and spill its contents into the late afternoon light revealing interesting creatures like flounder and puffer fish.  They did this over and over with skill and intuition.  When they opened the nets, they welcomed our looking, and we helped nudge the fish that weren't chosen back into the water.

I know that the ocean is full of amazing life, but I never considered that these very fish might be the ones that brush against my leg or leap from the water's surface when I'm in it!  Had I not taken an interest in this activity, stopped and looked more closely, my concept of what surrounds me would have remained pretty superficial.  Watching this process brought a whole new understanding of the water I swim in, and I began to think that the work of these fishermen is not unlike the work of a coach and her client.

You may have an inkling that something important swims beneath your surface.  Perhaps you have a desire or thought that brushes past your consciousness from time to time, but you don't know exactly how to harness the potential. You may know that you have interests, visions and goals, but may not be sure how to articulate them.  A skilled coach casts a net and helps you pull these things to the surface where you can look at them closely and consider their value and significance.  You may decide to take action now or toss them back to give them more time to grow.  While a coach does not tell you what to do, she may use her tools and intuition to help you determine what steps you might take next to bring to fruition your deepest desires.

What bounty lies within you that you have yet to identify and harvest?  How can a coach help you speed up the discovery process?