The air seems flush with new beginnings at the moment. It is that time of year. There is a seasonal shift that comes as the trees start to bud, the green returns, the lamb start leaping and spring breezes in. Easter itself — all eggs and resurrection, is all about re-emergence and whilst I am not religious, I can feel it in the air. And I like it. What’s not to like about new beginnings, fresh energy, a resurgence of life and direction?
It got me thinking about coaching, this work that I do and that I love so much. It got me thinking about the hopes and longings for new beginnings that coachees bring into coaching with me; a new stage of life, a new job, a new relationship with self, a different way of being at work or at home, a development, a growth, the next bud on this branch of this tree that is ours, that is us.
New beginnings are so precious, for they hold the energy of hope in the inner movement towards the new . They are precious too for their fragility; it takes courage to hope, to expose oneself to the vulnerability of dreams; and in the hoping for something new, in the inner movement away from the old, there can often be such frustration, boredom, pain and anger. It is tender territory and one to be walked with care and sensitivity, as well as with courage and confidence.
So as we move through Easter and towards the summer, I want to inspire you to think about your next new beginning, and to dream a little, or perhaps to dream big. The busy madness of our lives can force us to turn our heads to the ground and forget to look up to the sky, But if we did that more, and looked both inwards to connect with what we long for, and outwards to the possibilities and choices that are there for us to see and to seize, there is no knowing what can open up next and what that might bring for us, for our families, our communities, teams and organisations.
I leave you with the most beautiful words I know about this subject, in the hands of John O’Donahue.
FOR A NEW BEGINNING
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.