Professional Coaching and Development

 I've been profoundly moved and thoughtful over the last few weeks, and here's three reasons why:

A Reunion
A Procession
A Letter

Let me explain.  The Reunion was of many friends gathering at a funeral.  All of us were joined in celebrating an amazing life of a dear mutual friend.   Some of us have not met for over 20 years.  Some of us didn't recognise each other, as nearly quarter of a century has reshaped us, changed our hair colour, given us interesting lived-in faces.  It was, in fact, a deeply respectful and in many ways joyous occasion.  A life fulfilled - what more can I say?  Afterwards, many of us expressed how powerfully we had recognised the bond between friends, the importance of connections, family, friendship.

The Procession I saw from my car on my way to a meeting out of town.  I could see the queues of cars (thankfully on the other side of the road).  Usually that's due to a tractor being obstinate.  On this occasion, it was a hearse on its way to the Crematorium.  A couple of cars behind the procession were clearly family.  But what about at the back of the queue of cars?  Did the drivers and passengers know that a life had passed, touching other lives?  Probably they felt impatient, wondered what was holding up the traffic.  When things don't go our way, we complain, that it has rained, that the bus is late, that fish is expensive, that our flight is cancelled, that there's a lot of traffic on the road today.  We don't always see the big picture, don't know about the impact of events on others' lives, or all the threads that connect us, the things we hold in common as human beings.