Discovery produces the experience that produces knowledge. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Creativity – March, 2009*)
Life is a series of experiments that help us clarify our next step. Cindy Reinhardt
Although not consistently with awareness, I’m always experimenting to discover what works and what doesn’t. I’ve noticed that, when something works, it often becomes a habit, and that I neglect the need for periodic re-evaluation.
Seeing the empty space behind my home where a deteriorating old deck stood just the day before reminded me of the need to create space for the new by letting go of that which no longer serves (at least in its current form). I chuckled as I imagined my talented contractor trying to build the new deck, without first removing the old one.
As I reflected for a moment, I thought of many times in life when I’ve hung on to things (stuff, ideas, beliefs, etc.) until the new was right there: a job that provided a paycheck but no sense of accomplishment, a client who wasn’t a good fit, an affiliation with no spark kept only out of habit. Experiments that worked initially, but that upon re-evaluation (sometimes prompted by discomfort) no longer worked for the best in me.
I also recognized the awesome opportunities that emerged in those times when I was clueless about what was next. The examples that stand out are those in which I left jobs: deputy director of the housing authority in Houston, vice-president of a real estate development company, executive coach with a coach training company.
With each departure, something new opened not only professionally (the next great job, a thriving consulting practice, being among the first to be trained as a professional coach and a founding member of the International Coach Federation), but personally as well (meeting Gregge Tiffen, life-long friendships, a marriage and step-son, my move to Crestone).
Now, as I embrace the newness of this spring (see last week’s blog here), I’m repurposing more than old boards from the deck out back. My business name, Creative Resources Group and my corporation are being retired. I’m letting go of my 20-year membership in the ICF. I’m clearing out old papers and files in my office and ‘stuff’ from the garage. Exactly how the energy, resources and efficiencies of those choices will manifest isn’t clear. I feel their spaciousness.
For now, I’ll continue coaching as Success Zone, my website for many years. I’ll put much more business energy into my bed & breakfast, Dragonfly House-Crestone (LINK). I’m also taking a deeper dive into the legacy that Gregge Tiffen left behind in his writing, transcripts of his workshops, and recordings of my many sessions with him over 25 years. And, more long walks with Luke.
I wasn’t always aware that every choice I make is an experiment that evokes discovery far beyond whether it serves me or not. But that awareness has created a spaciousness and yummy softness in my life for which I am most grateful.