Ann Strong, offering spiritual business and life coaching to support small business owners in building their lives and businesses on their own strong spiritual foundation and their natural strengths and gifts.
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During my personal spiritual retreat last week, I took a day to drive the three hours to Glenwood Springs to meet with my new coach, Jeff Patterson. We spent most of our time sitting on rocks at the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers. Later that day, I spent several hours upstream on the Roaring Fork, taking in her gifts.I did not consciously know it before sitting there on that beautiful summer day, but I had been starving for the river. As a child and teenager, I spent a couple weeks of most of my summers playing on the banks of the Crystal, Roaring Fork and Frying Pan Rivers while my dad fished. I loved wading in the freezing cold water, building forts out of sticks and smashing rocks to smithereens.The Crystal River near Redstone, Colorado
These Colorado rivers flow swift and powerful with clear water. My dad taught me to respect their pull and never under estimate how quickly I could be taken down river without my consent. When I first visited the east coast as a young adult, I was appalled by how lazy the rivers there seemed to me.
And, then I fell in love with the New Mexico desert and only occasionally noticed the Rio Grande River, even though I have spent hundreds of hours within a mile or two of her. I’ve devoted all my retreat time to the desert and have only ventured to the mountains to ski – again without paying attention to the rivers.What nourishment had I craved from the river without even knowing?As a very grounded Taurus, I love being on the land. Often slow to change, I can sometimes resist flow, preferring to plan. The steady roar of the Roaring Fork called me to embrace flow and change with a bit more trust. I could feel my body relax into the flow of the river, feeling the constancy of change – even feeling excited by it!For the past few months, I have been in the middle of a tremendous personal and professional growth spurt. The mighty flow of the river offered me courage to more fully allow myself to grow and flourish, even as I often feel like a baby beginner . . .
"Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly look for fruit on it in autumn."- Walter ScottWhat in you longs to blossom now? Even though many of us choose to set goals and make resolutions in January, that timing contradicts nature – both human nature and mother nature . . .As Nature herself knows, attempting new growth in the dead of winter makes for a very short life span! Perhaps explaining the reality of so many new year’s resolutions never taking hold?! Trees and flowers know better to wait for warmth to blossom. And so we as human have this same blossoming opportunity now – when the air is cool and the sun is warm and we feel hope deep inside our limbs!So, regardless of what did or didn’t happen with your new year’s resolutions, what longs to blossom in you now? Can you sense more vibrant health inside you? Do you know greater abundance in your business? Are you feeling excited about new love blossoming? Is a new project waiting to blossom? New collaborations? Deeper friendships? New fun and adventure? Spiritual awakening? Travel to new places?Let’s use this wonderful, fresh, spring energy to give voice and commitment to what longs to blossom from deep within us . . . looking forward to a wonderful autumn harvest because we’re taking the time now to tend the inspiration of new growth . . .Feel free to post your spring blossoming urges in the comments section . . .
Happy Autumn!
As we transition to this new season tomorrow, take some time to reflect . . .
What are you harvesting?
What has grown into what you've dreamed it could? As you meditate and reflect on different aspects of your life: wellness, relationships, career, money, home, personal/spiritual growth, what calls for celebration?
What are you ready to till back into the soil?
As you look meditate and reflect on aspects of your life, what has fulfilled its purpose and is ready to "go back to the Earth" to be reborn in a new way? Or, what didn't grow as you'd imagined and you now feel ready to release?
What yearns to be brought inside (within you) to warm by the fire?
What ideas, passions, questions might you like to keep close to your heart and hearth right now? What might be your meditation focusin this season?
What might you like to be for Halloween?
What "character" within you wants to play right now? What aspect of you would like some time "on stage"?
What activities do you most enjoy in this season?
What autumn activities make your heart happy? What are your favorite ways to be in nature this time of year?
