being present

Noticing Without Fixing

I recently added something new to my morning routine. I had been revisiting the Positive Intelligence program that I benefited from so much when I took it during COVID. This time, it just wasn’t working that well.

Instead, I’ve taken to spending a few minutes each morning, around the time of my first sip of coffee, just noticing.

That’s it. Noticing the sunlight against the wall of the house next door. The roses in my neighbor’s yard blowing gently. The sound of cars rushing off to work interspersed with the morning birdsong.

Sitting in the Ugly: Staying with Difficult Emotions and Discovering the Gifts That Can Arise

“All hell is breaking loose around here again,” Daniel stated flatly.

“What is?” I asked.

“ Covid is back and my team is telling me they just can’t go through this again. What do I say to them? I can’t reassure them that everything is going to be all right. Yet I can’t just join in and add my own concerns to the mix. Everyone is burned out and anxious about what could happen. How do I help them prepare for what they may have to deal with?

I truly didn’t know what to say. It was my second coaching session in a row where someone opened up about a situation that was generating difficult emotions. I didn’t have an easy answer. Well, I could have come up with something but I’m afraid it would’ve come off as superficial and canned.

But what to do instead?