I’m always amazed at the adventure that is waiting right outside my door. 

Up here at the lake, Indy doesn’t have quite the freedom he does in Milwaukee. As the yard isn’t fenced in and I don’t want to encourage him to seek his own adventure, he is on a rope when he’s outside. A few days ago, he was out sniffing around under the apple tree. As I watched, a couple of blue jays became incredibly agitated. One stayed up in the branches of the tree while the other began swooping closer and closer to Indy. Both were beyond chirping, but screeching louder and louder. Sweet old Indiana was oblivious, so after just a short time I coaxed him away. I saw a nest up in the tree and assumed that was what all the ruckus was about.

Fast forward a couple of days. John was walking outside and heard a high-pitched chirping near the tree. As he got closer he realized that there was a pair of baby jays huddled together on one side of the tree, and a lone baby bird on the other side, at the base of the tree. Again, Mr. and Mrs. Jay came screeching in, swooping and screaming, telling John in no uncertain terms that they wanted him outta there! John respectfully backed away.

Here’s where I want to talk about why I see Mr. and Mrs. Jay as fabulous life coaches. You knew I’d get to it at some point and I don’t want to keep you waiting any longer. You see, I Googled baby blue jays because I was worried about the itty bitty birds. I learned that once they have their feathers they do indeed leave the nest and begin living on the ground. They continue to be fed and as we saw so clearly, protected by their parents. How awesome, delightful and terrifying is this?

Mr. and Mrs. Jay are trusting their off-spring to grow in the way that is best for them, that’s what a good life coach does as well. Mr. and Mrs. Jay are there, but in the background until needed. Your life coach is there for you, in the way you prefer, when you prefer. Mr. and Mrs. Jay are trusting that their offspring will learn to eat, fly and protect themselves, because they know they have the necessary instincts and that they are capable of learning as they grow. Their goal is to be independent and strong. You also have the ability to determine your goal and to move into it in the time and manner which is right for you. These baby birds are just like me and they are just like you.

When we work together, it’s not about me telling you what you should do, how you should behave, or what direction you should move. Oh no-no sirree! My job is to know that you have the ability and instincts already. However, I am ready, willing and very excited to coax you along; and cheer you long and loud when you leave your own nest. I suspect that’s what Mr. and Mrs. Jay did to get the babes out of the nest. I will ask you questions and we will talk, this is a cooperative effort after all. When you make a move that leads you toward your intended destination I will cheer for you. I don’t think I can reproduce the interesting sounds that come out of the blue jays, but I suspect that’s truly for the best anyhow.

Once again, I’m grateful for the lesson. Mr. and Mrs. Blue Jay have released the ‘shoulds’, trusting in the instincts and growing abilities of their off-spring. I will do my best to follow their example.

This week I encourage you to find your own backyard adventure. What is the lesson? Allow yourself to be inspired!

Namaste,

Sandy

Generally speaking, I wake up before my alarm has the chance to ring, however, on this particular morning I couldn’t seem to open both of my eyes at the same time. I heard the alarm and instead of turning it off, I selected snooze…three¬¨‚Ć or 4 times. I didn’t actually fall back to sleep, because each time I knew I was getting nearer and nearer to the time I actually had to leave the house and that thought was making me anxious. Yes, the life coach inside of me knew the easy and best solution would have been to talk to myself about the advantages of getting up, and then sit up, but I simply didn’t.

By the time I did get up I was running late for meeting with one of my favorite non-client groups. Things weren’t progressing particularly well. My watch battery had gone dead, my hair, well let’s not talk about what my hair was doing, and did I mention that I couldn’t find my glasses? I got to the meeting and had to ask one of my friends to set my alarm reminding me of departing time. I couldn’t do it myself because I couldn’t see the teeny, tiny buttons. No glasses means no bi-focals, means no clear vision… When I was asked a simple question I was all foggy and it was just about all I could do to speak my name coherently.I sooooo felt like I needed to go back home and begin my day all over again.

Then it happened, the magic which changed my day. I like the gentleman who was sitting next to me, he’s a bit quiet, means what he says when he does speak and is a man of integrity. In short, I like and respect him and what he has to say. He paid me a compliment. Nothing huge, but a very nice, sincere compliment. My whole day completely changed. Every time I thought about it, I smiled. I felt calmer and more self-confident. From that point on my day went better than I could have imagined.

My point here? Our words have strength, they affect others in ways we often don’t expect or even imagine. hurt someone with a thoughtless or curt comment, damaging their self-esteem and perhaps inflicting long lasting damage. However, if we offer a sincere smile, a friendly compliment or offer a kind gesture we may change their day. Which of course this person may then pass along to the next person, etc. Hmmm, it seems to me we have the opportunity here to change the entire world, one kind word at a time.

By the way, that compliment I mentioned, it’s almost a week later and it still makes me stand a little straighter and smile. Thank you my friend.

Namaste,

Sandy