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A spring haiku about blossom leads to new insights

    Walking home from the pub the other night I stopped to take this photograph, and compose this haiku.

    Blossom arrested
    Parked on double yellow line
    Released without charge.

    Blossomise

    I was listening to ‘Blossomise‘, the new EP by LYR, whilst walking. This is the band that includes poet laureate Simon Armitage, who has recently published a volume of poetry in the same name. So perhaps I was unconsciously on the lookout for blossom and signs of spring. It was a moment when poetry, photography, music and nature combined.

    As Simon Armitage says in the intro to the new book, poets have had ‘their money’s worth’ and are in debt to the environment. One could say the same for art in general. And what about coaches?

    Using vs identifying with nature

    Coaches often ‘use’ nature for metaphor, as a backdrop to coaching sessions, a ‘container’ in which we focus on ourselves. According to Stephen Kellert, co-author of the groundbreaking Biophilia Hypothesis, ‘using nature’ is one of the nine ways that humans affiliate with the natural world. However, along with ‘scientific’, ‘negativistic’ and ‘dominionistic’ affiliations, utilitarian values are poorly related to nature connection. It’s not a surprise, I’m sure, that using something is at odds with identifying with it.

    Nature connection is all about identifying with nature in a way which aligns our sense of self with the natural world. To do this, we need to bring in our other values and affiliations. Emotions and senses, for example. Natural beauty, meaningful engagement and reflecting on compassionate ways to make a difference. We can practice engaging in these five key pathways – and doing so can create increased environmental agency, and more action in daily life that benefits the natural world.

    In other words, as Simon Armitage continues, our purpose can be ‘to give definition and dignity to a crucial aspect of the ecosystem, and to give meaning and protection…’

    New insights

    So a spring haiku about blossom leads to some new insights. Perhaps you could reflect on this too. How do you engage with nature in new and meaningful ways? How does your work (whatever field it’s in) give definition and dignity, meaning and protection, to the ecosystem?

    I’ll be touching on some of these themes at my workshop for the ICF (International Coaching Federation) in May, and Henley Business School in July. Hope to see you there.