Hanna Cooper

Letting go

 

“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell

Packing up the summer clothes.  A friend stroking her Mom's hand in hospice.  Discarding long held fears and beliefs that no longer serve us.

It is a bittersweet thing to say goodbye to what we hold dear, whether they are seasons, people or ideas.  Whether the changes are chosen or not, desired or not, new possibilities emerge when we can let go.

When people ask how I became a coach, I will tell them about a life tsunami of birth and death that woke me up to the preciousness of time.  My surrender to uncontrollable events allowed me to eventually emerge into a new profession.

It's a pattern that must be repeated over and over again in order to grow - to release our clenched grip what we know to move into the open space of what is possible.

What needs to be let go of in your life?
What is waiting to emerge?

Dream up your future

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined. - Thoreau

The day I took my coaching certification exam, my husband gave me a simple silver cuff bracelet with the first part of this quote engraved on the outside and inside - "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."

I wouldn't know concretely whether or not I passed the exam for weeks, but he chose to celebrate me and my dream of becoming a coach even before it was a reality. 

When I wear this bracelet, it reminds me of his encouragement and support to pursue my highest dreams -- a great and long-lasting gift of the heart.

I only recently learned of the second half of this quote - "Life the life you've imagined."  It's a perfect complement to the first half, in that dreams and imagination are the fuel to create concrete future realities.

I encounter many people who sadly believe that they have no creativity, or that dreaming is somehow frivolous.  They may have forgotten their innate creative nature or experienced enough disappointed dreams to make it feel hard to try again. 

And yet, visualizing our desired future is of vital importance, if for no other reason than, as they say, you're more likely to get what you want if you know what it is.

Where are you dreaming of doing?  What possibilities can you imagine? 

What will you do to step towards your future today?