Spring Renewal

Traveling in California at the beginning of spring brings up the spirit of renewal. I drop by an old friend’s house after years of being away; her hug is the same…bountiful and real. I take in the synchronicity of quick yet meaningful meetings, long dinners with dear women friends, and reel in the beauty of the world renewing itself one more time. I remember difficult times when someone promised, “This too shall pass.” It all does—the season, the insights, the hard times, the conversations—like the warm sunlight between rain clouds. Yet it all comes back in new forms…a new season, an inspired conversation, inevitable challenges, different sorts of connection.

Driving through the Sierra foothills in my little Kia rental car I am taken by the simplicity of the temperature dials…small turn dials like on the old radios, with easy to read icons. I treasure that simplicity— the ease with which I can access comforting warmth and refreshing coolness—may it follow me through these spring days.

red-winged blackbirds perched along the fenceline—snowy peaks on horizon

white heron framed in blackness of round drainpipe—the yin yang of my thoughts

cold chases warmth as graywhite clouds shadow blooming hills—white & pink buds

The Vigilance of Kindness

Difficult is this constant vigilance

to be kind with words to self,

not I made a mistake,

instead what have I learned

and harder still to look yourself in the eye

in the foggy bathroom mirror,

teeth unbrushed, wet hair dangling,

and feel a faint strength rising

from that place called the heart,
fingers gripping

the cold ceramic smoothness of the sink,

your chest falling, rising,

falling,

suddenly aware of your breath

as it leaves and comes back,

leaves

and comes back,

signaling the imperceptible letting go-

save the fact of your smile,

its brilliance.

“How Can I Go Forward…?”

How can I go forward when I don’t know what way I’m facing?

How can I go forward when I don’t know what way to turn?

—John Lennon, from his song How?, in the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)

It is here that the coach/client relationship begins. From this place of ‘not knowing’ a client brings a desire to move forward, commitment, and curiosity to the table. The coach brings deep listening, compassion, questions, and structure. In this co-creative environment, the client’s inner wisdom emerges—alive with options, actions and well-being.

The Act of Discovery

…First is the knowledge
that it has taken a lifetime
to arrive at this place;
second is the conviction
that you are most alive
in the act of discovery;
and third is the fact
that observation changes
the thing observed.

—Robert Collen, excerpt from his poem Le Cri de Merlin

Copyrighted material. For educational use only.

Haiku + Brain Power = New Outlook

aquamarine pool

and entwined serpents — first time

I’ve seen the beauty

Copyright © 2007 Nancy G. Shapiro

Read the Haiku and Brain Power essay to the right, listed under Poetry+Coach.

The Third Part of Your Life…?

The Poet’s Works, XIV

With great difficulty, advancing by millimeters each year, I carve a road out of the rock. For millenniums my teeth have wasted and my nails broken to get there, to the other side, to the light and the open air. And now that my hands bleed and my teeth tremble, unsure, in a cavity cracked by thirst and dust, I pause and contemplate my work: I have spent the second part of my life breaking the stones, drilling the walls, smashing the doors, removing the obstacles I placed between the light and myself in the first part of my life.

—Octavio Paz, from Eagle or Sun?

Now that all that work has been done, what do you do with the third part of your life?

Offering a Space…

“We cannot change the world by a new plan, project, or idea. We cannot even change other people by our convictions, stories, advice and proposals, but we can offer a space where people are encouraged to disarm themselves, lay aside their occupations and preoccupations and listen with attention and care to the voices speaking in their own center.” —Henri Nouwen, cited in Mark Nepo’s book The Exquisite Risk

“The real work is the change.”

– Andy Goldsworthy, from the documentary about his work Rivers and Tides