“So life’s year begins and closes;
Days though shortening still can shine;
What though youth gave love and roses;
Age still leaves us friends and wine.”
— Thomas Moore

The shortening days of autumn are, indeed, upon us. I love the fall season. It is full and ripe. It is the culmination, harvesting and reaping of all that we have sewn this year.

And, so, it is time to celebrate. Fall harvest celebrations are happening in every corner of our continent. Images of grinning children, huge pumpkins and corn stocks come to mind. Here in the Okanagan Valley, we have just celebrated the Fall Wine Festival. So much bounty!! (So much wine, so little time….)

A time to give thanks. This season is the cornucopia of life. How can we not pause to take stock of all our blessings? We live in such a hurried environment these days, that sometimes we forget to stop and appreciate all that we have. We pass by those moments where we can bask in the warmth of accomplishment and fulfillment.

It’s a time to reflect on the past, and gaze into the future. Busy, chaotic Christmas/Holidays will be here before we know it! And, then the New Year is come and gone. Resolutions made in haste are soon forgotten.

I find this is the ideal time of year for crystal ball gazing. It’s more of a dreamy, soft sort of look ahead as opposed to the hard, by the numbers goals that I would set in January. The challenges and successes of this year are still a fresh taste in my mouth. I am savouring my victories, my accomplishments. I can still catch the bitterness of the disappointments. I have a generous sense of my potential.

So, I would invite you to sink into this season, and gather it around you like a warm blanket. See your glass full to the brim, and make a toast in celebration. Smell the aroma of all you have achieved this year. With each sip, say a word of thanks, appreciate the bounty you have created. And then, as you savour the lingering finish, dream into the future. Picture yourself in the rosy glow of next autumn. What will you be celebrating and giving thanks for then?

What a great weekend!

I love this time of year. We’re enjoying spectacular Indian Summer weather, the grapes are being harvested, crush is on full bore. There’s a great energy about this season. It feels positive and productive. It’s all about abundance and the successful culmination of effort expended. It leaves me feeling full and grateful.

And, expectant. We’re also taking the harvest and processing it into future enjoyment. So, in that way, the harvest is not an end, but a beginning.

This weekend we harvested, crushed and pressed our pinot gris and sauvignon grapes; and we bottled some of our 2007 reds. Everything is pure potential. Everything just another beginning.

Can you see me smiling?

When we choose not to focus on what’s missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present…..we experience heaven on earth. Sarah Breathnach

This quote was on an email that I received recently, and I thought - “How true!”. And, I also thought about how this could apply to the “not enough” syndrome that most of us fall into at least occasionally.

It seems like there is this huge prevalence of scarcity thinking. “I don’t have enough of…”, or “I’ll do such & such as soon as….” or “when I get better at…” or “I can’t do (blank) because I don’t have….” or “I’m not good enough”.

We have a tendancy to put everything off “until”. We spend all our energy focusing on what it is we don’t have.

How would it be if we changed our thought patern just a tiny bit? What would change if I said “I can do xxx right now, and it will be even better when yyyy”. How would things be different if I really focused on what I already have, be grateful for it, and do what I can do today?

The Compass Coaching program is based on what they call “Abundance Intelligence” which has been adapted from Kim George’s book called “Coaching into Greatness“. I’ve been delving into their coaching program both as a client and now as a Certified Compass Coach for the last couple of months. And, I love it!

I find that feels really empowering. It gives me choice. It creates abundance. What is it I can do, right now? Today? It blows all of the obstacles out of the water!!

Every time I get stuck, I ask myself that question: “What can I do?”. And, it never fails to get me into action. It also makes me feel full, and blessed. I feel satisfied instead of wanting. I feel more peaceful, less anxious.

What would change for you if you chose to focus on what you do have? What you can do? Look at your strengths (and those of others) rather than weaknesses?

How would you feel?

PS. Another book that I have really enjoyed and found very enlightening on the topic of scarcity & abundance is “Trance of Scarcity” by Victoria Castle. Check it out!

The world seems to be filled with doom and gloom these days. Investments and house prices are falling. Jobs are being lost. Businesses are failing.

Are you worried? Are you getting sucked into the mire of negativity? Are you finding it harder and harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

How do you think this effects your life? How do you move forward towards your goals and dreams when from everywhere there seems to be screaming “STOP! You are under threat. Don’t move or you’ll get hurt”? What happens when you actually start believing those voices?

I’m not saying that all is well. I know it’s not. But where is the opportunity? The laws of physics tell us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So when everything is going down, something has to be going up, right?

Why can’t that be you?

Just think about it. When you buy into the hype and really believe that the world is going to hell in a handbasket – where are you headed? If you hold that belief, what chance to do you have of going anywhere else?

What if you CHOSE to believe in possibility? What could you accomplish if you looked for the opportunities?

In coaching, we are taught the concept of “Disturbance as an Ally”. To us, when there is upheaval, conflict, tension; change is trying to happen. If we embrace that disturbance and look for the opportunities, we are going to come out the other side way ahead of the game. It also points to the idea that there is never 100% truth in anything. Where is that 2% opportunity that is lying in this mess? What would be different if that is what you focused on?

Can’t find that needle of opportunity in the economic haystack? Where are you looking? Are you focusing on the hay or the needle?

So, how do you do that? Here are some suggestions! Try one or two, see what happens….

1. 1. Focus on the positive! Do the Oprah thing and have a gratitude journal. Spend some time every day counting your blessings.
   2. When you find yourself saying “I can’t”, ask yourself “how can I?”
   3. Practice active appreciation by making a point of noticing the wonderful things around you, the wonderful people around you. Tell them what you appreciate.
   4. Spend time visualizing your dreams and goals every day. Let your psyche be infused with the positive feelings of achievement.
   5. Surround yourself with positive people. Seek out those in your life that make you feel good. Ask yourself how you can make someone else feel good and do it!
   6. Be generous. Give what you can. Reap the satisfaction of making someone else life better.
   7. Finally, be good to yourself! Wrap yourself in a warm comforting blanket of self love. And, you’ll find you have an abundance to give.

Have you got another habit that you use to focus on the positive? Leave a comment here to share it with us!

I watched this 15 minute video, and it kept me smiling all day! Well worth the time.

And a new one I just found today:

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. Agnes M. Pharo

A fellow coach, an American, wrote the following poem about the election of Barak Obama. In it she expresses gratitude for the gift of democracy and the message of hope and possibility that this election and it’s outcome have sparked for the world. It is truly moving and inspirational, and I wanted to share it with you.

GRATITUDE …

I hate cynicism
It’s small and judgmental and lives in a narrow box
On the contrary, I am, tonight,
a first snow night,
inspired.

Yesterday was a day of watching the opposite of cynicism
and finding myself expanded and grateful.

Spending the day at the polls,
observing humanity parade by.
Some aware of the privilege they enjoy living in a democracy.
Others not quite sure, treading softly,
like on new snow, feeling their way.

At the end of my polling obligations
I drove a young Native woman home from her journey to cast a vote.
We talked about her diagnosis,
her adjustments to living with cancer.
And my heart cracked open at her conviction,
in spite of her weariness, to let her voice be heard.

And finally watching the election results with friends,
ready to celebrate a victory for each of us and our nation.
Any trace of the cynicism that eight years of missteps
had wound around my heart
melted
as I listened and watched Barak Obama speak to the world.

For I saw a man who had transcended the difficulties life had presented him –
Raised by a single mother, her skin white to his black, who died much too early,
The lack of a father’s presence
And a country divided and unable to see it’s way out of the snare of cynicism and greed.

He had a vision. And so he stepped up to lead us.
He had a vision that carried hope and wisdom;
courage and commitment.
One that included all the people,
united in their passion for the possibility
the future could hold for us and the children of tomorrow.

The opposite of cynicism.
“Yes, we can.”
Which must be preceded by “Yes, I can.”
That midwife of your dreams.
Confidently holding a vast space of possibility.
Given nourishment, it blossoms and connects
with similar hopes and courage
and becomes “Yes, we can.”

And so I’m grateful
to be alive at this moment
and a part of the interconnected web
of smiling, tearful faces,
all linked by a dream,
too long asleep.
Now once again awakened.

Has “Yes, I can” visited you in the night?
What dreams are calling to be born in your waking life?
Resist the thorny branches of cynicism and No.
Call a prayer of gratitude to the Source of your inspiration,
and kiss awake the dream.

 Written by

Victoria FittsMilgrim, PCC

True Life Coaching & Retreats

www.truelifecoach.net

Thank you for sharing this powerful message in such a beautiful way, Victoria!

You pop the cork. Pour a stream of crimson fluid into your glass. Inhale deeply the aromas it offers up. Taste the richness and notice the complexity. Feel how it glides over your tongue towards your throat. Hold your glass to your ear. And, listen. Just listen.

This wine has a message for you.

I was contemplating wine the other day (ya think?). And, I was wondering what messages it might have to impart to us. What does the wine have to say to you and me?

I think it says: Stop. Pay attention. Savour the experience. Really tune into the moments in your life.

I think it says: Celebrate! Life is good. Enjoy what you have and rejoice in the small successes that are offered up every day.

I think the message is: Take care. Take care of yourself. Take care of the place you live. Be careful to nourish your body and soul. After all, what is wine without the soil, water and sun?

I think it says: revel in diversity. Enjoy the differences. Just as wines come in different colours and flavors, so do people. Appreciate the variety of the human race.

And, I hear something about changing, and growing. And, the process. Creating something beautiful.

I hear: Cheers! The importance of family and friends, being in good company. Choosing to be “cheer”ful and bring cheer to others.

Am I hearing things? Maybe I need another glass!

7 Tips to feeling happier, stronger and more optimistic in these trying times.

It’s easy to fall into the ground swell of desperation and fear that permeates the media these days. And, it’s hard to stay optimistic and positive. So, what difference does it make?

How does feeling small and scared do you or anyone else any good? How does giving into the mass hysteria change anything?

So what can you do? How can you make a difference?

I know it sounds Pollyannaish, but focusing on the positive is one way! Looking for the good in your day, your life, your community and the world might make you happier, stronger, and more resilient.

According to an article in a recent Reader’s Digest, studies have shown that people who look for the “bright side” and count their blessings sleep better, are more optimistic, and more active. They get sick less, and live with more joy and energy. People who regularly acknowledge the what is going right instead of dwelling on what is wrong have better social lives and are more likely to try to help others.

Not sure where to start? Here are seven tips on making gratitude and appreciation for the good things a regular habit. I promise that if you do one or two of these everyday, you will be less stressed, more content and better able to weather the current turmoil. Try:

1. set aside just 5 minutes per day to reflect and write down all the good things that happened each day
2. make a game of noticing 5 things on your way to work or the store that make you smile
3. take several mini “gratitude” breaks through the day, tune up your awareness of the good stuff that’s all around you waiting to be noticed
4. tell your loved ones how much you appreciate them and why
5. relive some happy memories
6. do something nice for someone else
7. find something that makes you feel good, keep it with you & touch it whenever you need a lift (remember your blanky?)

Make it fun! Make it everyday, and soon you will find that it becomes a habit. And, when you are radiating more positive energy, what kind of impact do you think you have on those you interact with?

I know you can’t change the circumstances, but you can change the experience of it.  And, it’s contagious! Like ripples in the water, you will infect everyone in the world around you with the positivity virus. Now wouldn’t that feel good?

Fall festival time…harvest, abundance, wine, food. A time of celebration!

Or is it?

The stock markets are plummeting, there’s talk of recession, people are losing their jobs and financial giants are crumbling.

I live in a rural area, and as I have been thinking about this article the last few days, I have been looking forward in anticipation to writing about the Fall Wine Festival, harvest celebrations, and the general feeling of being thankful for such abundance. The apple trees out my window are laden with dark red apples contrasted against a brilliant blue sky. I can hear the machinery in the orchard next door as the harvest continues. The grapes are soaking up the last of the summer sun, preserving that essence as sweet sugar that makes our wines so luscious.

Traditionally, this is the time of great celebration. Here in the Okanagan in South Central British Columbia, Canada, life is pretty much the way it always has been. The late summer is traditionally warm this year, and the orchardists, vineyards and wineries are all gearing up to bring in the last of the ripened fruit. The grapes will be crushed, and we will all celebrate at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. Two weeks of celebrating abundance.

Here in B.C. Canada, we are relatively unscathed by the financial and economic chaos that is occurring in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their retirement security. People are frightened. The news is flooded with the horror of a system in collapse. There are huge areas and cities that have been devastated by storms. Suffering is palpable.

 And it makes me wonder about all of all this celebration and indulgence and frivolity. It’s kind of like the feeling you get when you find yourself laughing at a funeral. It makes me feel guilty somehow. It just doesn’t feel right. I should be sorrowful out of respect for those that are suffering.

And, yet, life goes on. And, I am thankful. I am thankful that I am living in a time and place that I can enjoy the abundance all around me. I want to celebrate the weather, the harvest, the crush. I want to enjoy the fruit of the farmer’s labour – the wine and the food. My friends. My good fortune.

I WILL savour all the richness that it available to me. And be even MORE grateful at this year’s Harvest Festivals as I recognize that this year, I am so very privileged. I will celebrate and be mindful of all those that are not as fortunate as I this year.

If you are one of those hit hard by current circumstances, my hope is that you will find some small reason to celebrate too.