Seeing the bigger picture

I still marvel at the many different aspects of coaching, especially when speaking with people about their visions and dreams. It is when we invest some time to ask ourselves what is meaningful to us that we get a sense of how we would like to live and feel. Have you ever asked yourself “what moves me, what do I what to create, what kind of world do I want to live in, what do I want to contribute?”

In India they have a beautiful practice, it is called SEVA, an ancient Sanskrit word meaning selfless service or compassion in action for the common good. It is based on the understanding that what we do for others we do for ourselves and that what we fail to do for others, we also fail to do for ourselves. It is also based on the observation that giving to others or working for common goals is when people receive the most joy in their lives and the most meaning.
It is the sense of community that inspires people to act with compassion, working together, feeling part of a bigger vision, feeling connected.

If that holds true on an individual basis it also holds true on a collective basis. If, as a human race we would have a dream, a great vision of how to live our lives lighter, distribute our resources better, connect to our essence deeper we would create a different reality. Realizing that there is enough for everyone and that everything we think and do effects everything else we would act accordingly. Energy follows thought. The way we think and feel determines the way we act and behave.

Saving our Environment - NOW!

It was only a few months ago that I joined an Organization called Clean up Greece (www.cleanupgreece.org.gr), a branch of clean up the world, which has been working for years to educate individuals, schools, businesses, municipalities and governments how to better respect and protect our environment.

Growing up in a country with a "green" movement, I developed an awareness for using and promoting environmental friendly practices. From cosmetics to cleaning materials I buy "green". Now the time had come that I felt the urge to do something on a bigger scale, to work together with others for sharing information and finding solutions.

I started talking to people on the island where I live and found that everyone I spoke to was interested in exploring the possibilities of better rubbish management, re-cycling and a cleaner island. So we had some meetings, put a loose plan together and made some proposals. We spoke to the Municipality, head of Schools, parent associations and individuals. Some schools promised to contact Clean up Greece and organize educational workshops for the students. Some of the grown ups were game to participate in a clean up day.

So we decided to have a go and last Sunday a few of us went off and started to collect rubbish from the roadside. I have to say that I was blown away. We had planned to walk and cover a large area, but the amount of plastic bottles, tins, paper and cigarette butts we collected on a strip that was only a 100 m long and 3 meters wide on each side of the street was overwhelming. We filled 16 large bags and it seemed like we had done almost nothing at all. I was amazed.

Plastic bottles and hundreds of cigarette butts each taking between to 1 - 5 years to disintegrate while poisoning the ground and water in the process along with all the rest of the stuff and this was not even the tip of the iceberg.

I know that experts have been warning us for years to treat our environment with more care and collecting all that rubbish really brought it home to me. I ask myself "what is it that keeps us from taking the warnings seriously? What compels people to throw rubbish into the road, the sea, the forest and the beach like it doesn't matter? What keeps the rest of us from standing up and speaking out and doing all we can every day for the protection of the environment we live in?
Do we feel so disconnected from our surroundings that we fail to realize that it is our very source of live which we are damaging? What are we waiting for? Lets face it - together we can make a difference!

For more information on ways to act more environmental friendly consult http://www.cleanupgreece.org.gr
http://www.cleanuptheworld.org

After the summer or Kalo chimona (Greek for wishing you a good Winter)

It’s been some time since I have posted anything on the blog and I mainly blame the summer. After Easter everyone starts to get ready for the summer months and then between July and August you lose touch with people (unless you go on holidays with them) and finally re-unite in September.

So what have I been up too? I gave some workshops, coached old and new clients and re-designed my website. In August we (my husband Steven and I) decided to go camping with friends. It was great. It was only the second time that I camped and I just loved the feeling of being in the middle of so many people, listening to all the different conversations, discussions and of course music. No Greek fun time would be complete without music. It is strange how the things that may bother you at home (llike hearing noise from the neighbours) enchant you when you are on holiday. We ate lots of wonderful food, spend most of the day on the beach and played Beriba (Greek card game) at night. Eventually after a week of enjoying feeling totally Greek we returned home to our island and started to re-connect with our various projects.

Unfortunately we returned also to the news of many devastating fires, which was heartbreaking. As a result a lot of people started demanding better environmental policies and to think about what they can do to act more environmental friendly. We started a movement here on Spetses and I am going to write about our progress regularly and also publish suggestions of what we can do in my Newsletter.

In September a friend of mine came from Miami and invited me to give a talk there in November as well as a workshop. We decided to join our forces and create and run the workshop together. We both love coaching people and sharing our experiences, and we always have a lot of fun together, one inspiring the other.

That brings me up to date and I promise to keep on sharing and posting ideas, insights, knowledge and leads on a regular basis.

Socrates' wisdom

Have you ever observed how many times we voice views and opinions on subjects or people we really know very little about? Often our information is second hand (we read or heard it elsewhere) and we make assumptions based on our own believes and concepts.

The next thing you know you are defending what you have heard with great passion. And while your opinion at that moment is not actually based on something you have observed yourself, you end up identifying so strongly with what you have heard that you defend it with all you have got. You may even end up arguing with anyone daring enough to challenge it.

And this is the point where a bit of Socrates wisdom provides an inspiring alternative:

.....after the Oracle had answered there is "non wiser than Socrates", Socrates was surprised and thought this was a riddle. He went off to speak to all the clever men in Athens and questioned them on a variety of subjects. After spending days and weeks doing so, he finally realised that they indeed knew very little. Contemplating his findings he came to the conclusion that he was wise only in so far as he was AWARE, that in essence he knew nothing. He impressed his listeners by openly stating "I don't know".

Try it and experience the relief you feel when you can just relax and listen without feeling the need to provide an answer. Celebrate not knowing while enjoying finding out!

One of my favourite quotes

"Freedom will not come to you by knocking at the door to love and waiting for someone else to open it. Freedom comes when you open the door. In fact there is really no locked door. Your mind and your qualities are independent of the actions of others" - Manuel Schoch from the book "Healing with Qualites". http://www.tune-in.ch/en