Coming Home to You Articles
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Class offerings:
Cultivating the Garden of your Mind - Take time out of your busy life to access the wisdom of your right brain and culitvate the garden of your mind.
Reweaving your Life - a workshop for women whose children are leaving home
Home2me Workshop
Going With the Flow
--By Chris Rummer © 2004
View to the Sound
© Rosemary Antell 2004
www.rosemaryantel.com
Warm summer days bring memories of swimming at the beach. On Long Island, where I grew up, this meant Jones Beach—miles and miles of fine white sand left by ancient glaciers at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Getting to Jones Beach was like swimming upstream with a horde of salmon, and on weekends, the traffic jams would clog the scenic parkways leading to the beach around the clock. As the line of cars slowly snaked its way to the Promised Land of surf, sand, and Saltwater Taffy, I, along with countless other children sang an endless refrain endless refrain of “Are we there yet?”-while parental tempers frayed and car engines overheated.
Once there, there was no guarantee that you would find a parking spot in the immense lots along the beach’s causeway. Those without stubborn persistence never reached that glorious moment when you walked through the end of the pedestrian tunnel leading to the beach. But for those that did, the persistence paid off. Each and every time I emerged from that tunnel, I was hit as if for the first time with the salty tang of the sea air, the feel of the sun on my skin, the sight of the sand and boardwalk stretching endlessly to the horizon, and the shrieks of happy children playing in the surf.
Lured by those shrieks, I would forget that I had been tired, hot, and grumpy, and that I had to carry more beach toys and towels than my little sister. I was ready to rush for the water’s edge, trusting in my instincts to guide me over the vast sea of beach blankets laid back-to-back as far as the eye could see. Propelled by a primordial force as strong as the tide, I flew over the blazing hot sand, around the bodies of sunbathers, and the endless holes dug by optimistic children digging for treasure on the other side of the world, and came to where the waves beat their relentless refrain upon the shore.
And here at the edge, in that space between sand and sea, I felt the thrill of excitement touched with ambivalence--the ambivalence that can come to all of us whenever we’re ready to take the plunge into something as vast, uncontrollable, and changeable as the ocean. This is where we dance in hesitation, sticking a toe into the icy water, and rushing back up the beach with a shriek.
Sometimes we think we’ll never get past this point, hanging on the edge of the surf, and gazing with longing at those diving happily amidst the waves. This is where a steady hand or a reassuring voice can provide just the impetus we need to dive in ---enabling us to find a way to go with the flow, to come to the place where we can float effortlessly, instead of sinking as we struggle.
And this is what a Life Coach can provide—a source of encouragement and support—enabling you to ride the waves toward the Satisfaction, Achievement, and Success that is yours.
Life/Transition Coach Chris Rummer offers a variety of strategic skills to enhance your growth as you meet life’s challenges.
Chris has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and further training in Coaching, Family Therapy, Interactive Guided Imagery, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. She coaches individuals and groups both locally, from her office in Seattle, and throughout the world via telephone. You can reach her at (206) 782-2947, fax (206) 789-5757, or chrisrummer@artfulchange.com
Coming Home to You is a program offered by ArtfulChange © 2004
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