Life’s Experiences
Sitting on my bench in the sun last Saturday, with mum, wearing sunglasses and light clothing, we were marvelling at how warm it was for the time of year.
Fast forward a week, I’m sitting on the same bench, having just chatted to mum on the phone, but wearing my quilted coat, warm boots and fingerless mitts! I think we’d be lost for topics of conversation as a nation if it wasn’t for our changeable weather patterns. My fingers are covered in hacks from the cold, in spite of my best efforts to protect them, but I am grateful for being able to sit in peace and relative warmth, sheltered from the wind, to write this.
Last week was extraordinarily busy and emotionally demanding, for a wide variety of reasons, and yet I was able to write with gratitude in my journal because the positive moments far outweighed any challenges I was faced with. Besides, focusing on negative elements only ever results in negative outcomes.
My highlights were meeting a freelance facilitator, and reconnecting with the lead facilitators for Columba 1400 values based leadership academy.
Welcoming a new group of participants to the academy and watching them slowly unfurl, ‘like a fern in the Spring’ (taken from Go Down Easy by John Martyn) is always gratifying to observe, even when they were inappropriately dressed for a cold walk by the sea on Tuesday! One thing I’ve learned with teenagers, including my own when they were younger, is to invite them to dress for the weather in a matter of fact way and finish with, Thank you, as if they have agreed to it, rather than engage in all the reasons why they should wear more clothes. I did this on Thursday, having sourced a number of fleeces and jackets from home and the Columba 1400 vans, laid them out and before long the lure of being warm overcame any reluctance at covering up their identity.
I’m a naturally cold person, so tend to err on the side of caution, or maybe we spent so much more time outdoors when we were younger, that experience soon told us that being very cold and having sustainable fun are mutually incompatible.
I’m grateful to being on my own schedule next week, catching up with NBCCC in person, and enjoying a less frenetic start to my days. However, much as I look forward to working with Columba 1400 in May and August, having created a routine and approach to life since embarking on my entrepreneurial journey, I’m grateful that I don’t have the commitment of a full time job which takes me away from home.
Thank you for reading this and the positive comments I receive from you, individually. It means a lot that my thoughts and opinions are valued and, as I continue to reflect on each passing week, I hear my voice become stronger and more certain, generating feelings of comfort and empowerment.
Have a great week.
Values based leadership walk with Columba 1400
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