Welcome Autumn!

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."  
                                                                                                  ~Elizabeth Lawrence

One of the things that gives my life meaning is being connected to nature.  Going into outdoor spaces, whether it be my garden, the water, the woods, or to take in the night sky, my body chemistry seems to change.  Where there was stress or anxiety, I often feel at peace when moving outdoors. It is in nature that I am most aware of the wonders of the universe and things that can not be explained.  My balm and my temple in one.

I am also a creature of ritual, and so marking the change of seasons gives me pleasure and keeps me present.  Part of my daily routine throughout the year is to note all the changes in the trees and the flowers and the sky on my way to work.  I always take time out to mark the day when one season folds into the next.  On the first day of summer, I wrote a promise to myself on a little square dragonfly card and tucked it into an aqua colored envelope. Today, the last day of summer, I read it and am pleased that my intentions to experience peace and to expect great things came to some fruition.  A nice way to bring summer full circle and get ready for fall.

So, now I look forward to hot soups, walks in the crisp air, the smell of wood burning, black swirling flocks of migrating birds, the noisy chatter of crows, pumpkins and cinnamon baked apples, snuggles, blankets, sweaters and the flare of radiant color just before the leaves surrender to winter.

In the meantime, though, we're going to spend the weekend at the ocean in the crease of the summer and fall where anything is possible with the weather.  There we'll spend time being still and we'll welcome whatever the season brings.

What rituals create meaning in your life?  Which ones might you add to help you slow down and be present?

Dignify Your Inner Dilettante!

Have you been accused of being a Jack of All Trades?  Do people begin to look wary when you tell them with excitement of your latest passion.  Have you tried to squelch the rush of interests that sometimes even you find dizzying?  Have you simply stopped telling people about all of your ideas for future projects to avoid the wise cracks and feeling misunderstood?  If the range and multitude of your interests invite scorn from your single-vision friends and family or if you yourself are starting to wonder if you’ll ever find work or a hobby to settle on, perhaps it’s time to honor your dilettantism!

When I was in college, I used to sit in classes from political science to art to and everything in between and continually think, “I could do that for work!”  My job history ranges from a plant pest inspector’s assistant to a lithographer’s assistant to volunteer work with the Virginia Stage Company, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Friends of Women’s Studies and many other posts in between.  I was recently working with a client, currently a speech language pathologist, who listed her interests as including but not limited to photography, bartending, dancing, travel, cooking, writing, singing, massage and fitness.   I was literally tickled by her list because it was at once familiar and inspiring!  I also know, however, that having so many interests may lead to others misunderstanding you as lacking focus or sticktuitiveness.  Have no fear, fellow unique travelers, I have an explanation!

Unique travelers often have the characteristic that is called multipotentiality or the potential to do well at many things.  If one resists squelching the urge to explore as many well-meaning folks around them might advise, the unique traveler may becoming intensely engaged in a pursuit of interest until their curiosity is sated and then easily move on to the next interest with equal enthusiasm. On the other hand, this individual may have several projects going on or be in the process of reading multiple books on a variety of topics at once.  The need to make meaning of the world around us may also lead to the desire to experience many things in an effort to understand more deeply why and how things work.

A little reframing may be in order here, especially if your less than typical range and diversity of interests are causing you to feel a little freaky.  Dignify your inner dilettante by accepting that this may well be an expression of your multipotentiality.  Realize that you are much less likely to become board, more likely to see the world in a connected way and often have an interesting new experience to share in conversation!

What ways have you found to incorporate all of your interests in a comfortable and fulfilling way?  Still perplexed about how to balance it all?  I know a coach who can help you with that! 

When Everything is New Again

                                                                                           Kim Bielmann Cabotaje 2011

“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”      
                                                                                                                                                         ~Albert Einstein

If you had to choose, who would you say is more capable of novel ideas, the novice or the expert?  Would you be surprised to learn that it is the novice, not confined by what is known, who is more likely to generate new and unusual concepts and solutions?

I spent the weekend with my young friend for whom nearly everything holds wonder and whose imagination knows no bounds.  Today, I watched the fresh faces of so many young students walk through the door for the first day of school.  I was reminded of the concept of the beginner’s mind. 

When we’re young and so much of the world is new to us, we are open to considering new information, practicing new skills and taking risks.  As we mature, relying too much on our expertise or experience may interfere with our ability to consider new possibilities—to see a challenge or an issue from a new point of view. 

How does your need to already know get in the way of new discoveries you might make?  What challenge or project might benefit from the wonder of the novice?