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 I recently returned from
a wonderful summer retreat experience that opened
with the poem, Now I Become Myself,
by May Sarton. It begins…
Now I become myself.
It's taken
Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people's faces…
As I sat with these
words in retreat, I remembered a poignant moment
in time while driving down a country road to
meet my sister at a funeral home. It was a beautiful
October day. My mother had just died. I turned
on the radio, seeking soothing sounds to comfort
me in my sorrow. How ironic to hear the words
from an old, but favorite ‘60’s
tune…To everything, turn, turn, turn.
There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time
to every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born,
a time to die – and yet, as I now
reflect on my life and those of my clients,
I see a continuous cycle of new life being birthed
amidst the old. Seeds of new beginning drop
to the ground in concert with falling leaves
every year. This reminds me that when one
door closes another door opens. The compost
pile is buried beneath winter’s frozen
ground, memories of delicious fruit soaking
into the soil. When I bury myself in winter’s
respite it serves to nurture my soul. Decay
transformed feeds the fledgling seeds of spring.
Grief fuels my passion. A shoot pushes up, and
then another, and another, until summer’s
fields are full and complete. My desire and
perseverance reap great rewards. Once again,
death comes. And once again, I start over.
The cycle of seasons
is a part of us all. There is a method to this
madness called human nature - a process of change
that if we're willing to trust, will shape our
true selves and harvest abundant fruit. Our
challenge is to stop and notice what's growing
and dying in our lives instead of trying to
make ourselves into something we're not. The
author of this month's featured book says it
well…When the gift I give to the other is
integral to my nature, when it comes from a
place that is organic reality within me, it
will renew itself - and me - even as I give
it away. Only when I give something that does
not grow within me do I deplete myself and harm
the other as well, for only harm can come from
a gift that is forced, inorganic, unreal.
Over the course of
the next twelve months, I will continue to use
the metaphor of the seasons in my newsletters
to illustrate the natural cycle of human growth
and change. I hope you'll take time throughout
the year to contemplate the seasons of yourself.
This fall, I invite you to explore the seeds
of your true nature, reflecting on the gifts
you have to give and the life you're meant to
live. Enjoy!
Autumn is often equated
with a time of decline. But it is not only death
that comes to us in fall. Autumn also brings
a blaze of new life. Barren branches of oak,
maple and chestnut spread seeds among decaying
leaves -- seeds that contain their true nature
and embody renewed life. Our true nature is
also held within fertile seeds – core
values that give our lives significant meaning
and define our true calling.
As a coach who helps
people discover their true calling, I always
begin a client relationship with a values clarification.
Now I’m not talking about checklists or
some multi-rater assessment. I simply ask my
clients to tell me stories about their lives.
Their stories may include passionate encounters,
exciting adventures, solemn moments, or profound,
life-altering events. As they share their thoughts
and feelings, it magically brings them back
to the times in their lives when they exercised
real talent, awakened creative energy, fell
in love with a project, or connected deeply
with a person, place or thing. As they speak,
I not only listen to their words, I listen deeply
to their hearts. We explore the meaning discovered
in these moments, creating lists of words or
phrases that symbolize their truth. Over time,
my clients develop ways to nurture these seeds,
grow their lives authentically, and like the
mighty oak, become more of who they were always
meant to be.
If you’d like
to explore more of your true calling, I’d
be delighted to listen to your meaningful stories.
Call me at 404-352-0340 or email pcarrera@humanarts.biz.
Remember, autumn is a great time to begin.
 The small, yet profoundly insightful
and eloquent book, Let Your Life
Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation,
authored by Parker J. Palmer, opens with the
sentence, Ask me whether what I have done
is my life. Many of us spend precious time
doing what we think we ought to do in life,
instead of doing what we feel called to do.
Our vision of vocation becomes a “willful”
act to achieve, instead of a journey toward
a deeper understanding of our inherent truth
– our potential, our passions, and our
purpose. Palmer reminds us that, Vocation
does not come from a voice ‘out there’
calling me to become something I am not. It
comes from a voice ‘in here’ calling
me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill
the original selfhood given me at birth by God.
Read an excerpt.
Email pcarrera@humanarts.biz
or call 404-352-0340 for additional information
or to register for the following events.
A WOMAN’S POWER & INFLUENCE
~ GROUP TELE-COACHING: Speak
your truth with greater conviction, stand in
your ground without doubt or fear, and bolster
your influence without political game-playing
in this dynamic 6-week series designed to strengthen
your authentic power and influence. ACT
NOW! Open enrollment is limited to 5 participants
at an introductory rate of $250 (a
savings of $148!) Series includes (6) 1-hour
“connected-learning” teleforums;
handmade journal and reflection note cards;
weekly summary emails with recommended readings;
and an individual coaching session valued at
$100.
Part I: POWER ~ Fridays, Oct 13,
20, 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. EST
Using a six-stage model of power and a Personal
Power Profile, you identify the stage that
best defines your power edge, and through
coaching and group support, develop concrete
strategies to expand and leverage your “whole”
power -- external power, or capacity for
action, and your internal power, or capacity
for reflection.
Part II: INFLUENCE ~ Fridays, Nov
3, 10, 17 from 8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. EST
Thought-provoking journal exercises and empathic
conversations lead you deep beneath surface
of superficial tactics to the source of compromising
beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting
what you really want. Your influence is strengthened
as you claim desire (Intention); prioritize
presence; and engage tension.
REAL WOMEN & WINE
~ quarterly networking at The Defoor
Centre, Oct 19, from 5:30 – 8:00.
Upscale. An exceptional group of women.
Loads of connections surprised and delighted
me. I really enjoyed the unstructured environment,
so say the women who attended our first event
in January. If you’re ready for a more
relaxed approach to networking with unlimited
time to simply talk, then stop by The
Reading Room Café & Bar @ Defoor
Centre, a welcoming, creative meeting
space located in up and coming West Atlanta.
Visit www.defoorcentre.com
to check it out.
To sign up, email pcarrera@humanarts.biz
with Real Women & Wine in the subject
line, your phone number and number of guests.
You’ll receive a confirmation with directions
on Oct 16. No entry fee. You pay for only what
you eat or drink.
FREE FALL INTO YOUR POWER! COMPLIMENTARY
“REAL POWER” LUNCH & LEARN ~
HumanArts is deeply committed to helping individuals
and organizations develop their authentic leadership
power. Because we’re so passionate about
what we do, and want to do more of it, we’re
offering a “free fall” event to
introduce organizations to our work. Master
Certified Coach, Phyllis Carrera, is happy to
deliver a complimentary one-hour lunch and learn
at your office if scheduled between September
23 and December 21. Learn more about HumanArts
Real Power Lunch & Learns by reviewing the
attached Adobe PDF.
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Read an excerpt
And you would accept the seasons of your heart just as you have always accepted that seasons pass over your fields and you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Kahil Gibran
The notion that our lives are like the eternal cycle of the seasons does not deny the struggle or the joy, the loss or the gain, the darkness or the light, but encourages us to embrace it all and to find in all of it opportunities for growth.
Parker J. Palmer
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
Robert Lewis Stevenson
But
the sower going forth to sow sets foot.
Into time to come, the seeds falling
on his own place. He has prepared a way
for his life to come to him, if it will.
Like a tree, he has given roots
To the earth, and stands free.
Wendell Berry
Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout.
Morihei Ueshiba
Seeds move through their life stages in an endless cycle of seasons, and the cycle of seasons reminds us that the journey never ends.
Parker J. Palmer
The seed has no idea of being some particular plant, but it has its own form and is in perfect harmony with the ground, with its surrounding…and there is no trouble. This is what we mean by naturalness.
Shrunya Suzuki
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