Let Them Not Say by Jane Hirshfield
What Will it Take for Us to Act -Really Act?- on the Climate Crisis?
The Dakini Speaks by Jennifer Welwood
In Praise of the Earth by John O'Donohue
In Praise of the Earth
Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.
And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.
When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.
Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.
Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.
The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed’s self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.
The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.
The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.
Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.
Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.
That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.
~ John O’Donohue ~
(To Bless the Space Between Us)
Of Acorns and Woodpeckers
This is the Time to be Slow by John O'Donohue
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
John O’Donohue
Tools for Transitions: Navigating the Paradoxes, Polarities and Paradigms in Climate Coaching
Tools for Transitions
Navigating the Paradoxes, Polarities and Paradigms in Climate Coaching
The Climate Coaching Alliance Global Festival starts this Thursday with a KEYNOTE Festival (8 speakers from 3/2 to 3/5) followed by a FRINGE Festival (with over 50 presentations from the Climate Coaching Alliance community from 3/06 to 3/31).
I would like to invite you to join me and the Climate Coaching Alliance community for this one-of-a-kind free festival of coaching. I am not presenting this year - I did last year.
There is a plethora of interesting presentations on the themes that are close to my heart: indigenous wisdom, nature practices, poetry, climate feminism, regenerative leadership, and many more.
The intention for this festival is to build coaches’ confidence and competence, knowledge, capacity, mobilisation and empowerment for climate coaching and action through:
Giving knowledge for guidance, best practice, inspiration, information, awareness and engagement
Empowering/developing coaches through, skills, tools support, engagement, eco cycle
Providing space for community and collaboration, partnerships, exploration and reflective conversations
I hope to see you there. All details on the Climate Coaching Alliance website.
Rev(ai)siting a Past Blog Post
Silence by Hafez
A day of Silence
Can be a pilgrimage in itself.
A day of Silence
Can help you listen
To the Soul play
its marvelous lute and drum.
Is not most talking
A crazed defense of a crumbling fort?
I thought we came here
To surrender in Silence,
To yield to Light and Happiness,
To Dance within
In celebration of Love's Victory!
Revisiting the Wisdom of New Year's Resolutions
Zenmai- A Practice of Unfoldment in Nature
Zenmai is the Japanese name for the Asian Royal Fern or Osmunda japonica. It’s an edible fern that has also been proven to purify air indoors. This is a practice of unfoldment to be done in Nature. It’s inspired by my studying with Steve March (Aletheia) for coaching and Mark Coleman (Awake In the Wild) for mindfulness in Nature. I am grateful for their wisdom and teachings.
Start by taking a long walk in nature where you can be mostly undisturbed. Refrain from talking to people and using your phone. Pay attention to all examples of zenmai or unfurling of leaves, ferns or other plants that you are encountering. Notice the life potential that is unfolding itself naturally in this process.
When you are ready, sit down for a meditation. Take a few deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Gently close your eyes and turn your awareness to your breath. Once you feel settled and present, allow yourself to just be, let yourself unfold.
What are you feeling? What are you sensing in your body? What are you observing in this moment? Can you sense into your innate wholeness? Bringing back to mind one example of zenmai that you encountered during your walk, remember how beautiful it was in its own unfolding. Can you feel the same about yourself?
Trust that the life you want will unfold from where you are now. As you become more aware of the natural process of unfoldment, the one of the fern or leaves that you observed or your own that you are now experiencing, your trust in it will deepen. Accept, love, and value yourself exactly as you are.
When you are ready to end this practice, gently open your eyes and stretch.