Today, I experienced gratitude and happiness
Last night marked the first night in 10 days that I didn’t hear the trickle of water or the soft thudding of rain on the roof. My window was open and a balmy summer breeze was flowing through the room.
This morning, the sky was blue and the sun was out. I decided to cancel a meeting that did not really require me to be there and instead go for a walk.
I live in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, a beautiful and amazing world-heritage listed area. The community and country I call home faced enormous challenges during the last 18 months. In late 2019 we had some of the worst bush fires ever. For months, the skies were blanketed by smoke and the air smelled acrid. At night, eerie lights illuminated the countryside and cliff lines. Luckily the rains came in February to extinguish the fires, including the mega fire at Gospers Mountain. Then Covid came, with its unprecedented impact on society and economy. Far more recently, we have been hit by a deluge of rain, forecast to be potentially a 1-in-100 year event. I have not yet been out to look at the damage the rains may have brought to the just recovering vegetation. I have seen my friends properties flooded, saw Warragamba Dam overspill and news of livelihoods threatened. I know my area is not the only one so affected; this is not specific to me or how I feel and experience this period.
I headed in the direction of one of the many cliff look-outs and was rewarded with an amazing view. Clouds were drifting in the sky, the land looked green, the sun was shining on the escarpment; I couldn’t see flood damage nor the burnt remnants from last year. I felt thankful that I could witness this today, lucky because I could chose to not attend the meeting; and happy that there was so much natural beauty around me if I was willing to look, if I was willing to be present in the moment. The early morning world was quiet, calm, washed clean, crisp, full of colour and life.
Early morning at Mt Solitary and Kings Tableland after the 2021 rainfalls.
As a coach working in the personal development space there is an expectation that I am 100% sure of the way I want to lead my life, that I am resilient by default and have an endless supply of it and that I am constantly able to manage my emotional resources.
When I coach and support you in your journey, I bring and give you everything I have – my energy, my compassion, my passion for life, my commitment to you. Just like you bring everything you have to someone or something important in your life. Sometimes that’s hard and even my resources and resilience need an occasional external uplift. And so, during my walk this morning, I gathered more resources for myself, grateful that I have this opportunity and freedom of choice and happy that the sun decided to smile on me and my community again.