The Trailhead

Each month, you will receive some practical tips on ideas such as eliminating stress, finding your passion, clearing clutter, and maybe even some travel tips and more. Also look for helpful resources including book titles and websites. In addition, don’t be surprised when you find a call to action. I am a coach, after all! I hope you find some useful tidbits. If you decide to take me up on one of the monthly challenges, email me and tell me about it. I would love to hear what you are up to! If you know someone that you think may find something of value in here, please forward this newsletter on. And remember…the adventure begins at the start of The Trailhead!

April 24^th and/or April 28^th: Welcome spring and go on a hiking Renewal Retreat. Take a break and enjoy a Saturday or weekday, hiking in the NJ Pinelands, near historic Batsto. Experience the support of group coaching to overcome obstacles, set new visions, gain clarity, and receive support. It will be a day of peaceful renewal, women’s connection time, and a revival of spirit, while surrounded by Nature’s beauty.

October 21-26, 2004: Join Coach Deb Martin (www.portagecoach.com) for our 3^rd annual Adventure Coaching Retreat at Maho Bay Camps on beautiful St. John in the US Virgin Islands. This fun and invigorating retreat is for you if you are serious about upgrading your life in a positive way…the perfect opportunity for self-exploration in a gorgeous, tranquil setting.

Fee: Starting at $795 per person (includes accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner, all morning workshop activities and materials plus an individual coaching session when you get home.

Click on my website for more information regarding the above-mentioned retreats. Also see more info for other 2004 retreats and getaways.

Hello All! Welcome to April! It’s really and truly spring! Even if you live in the coldest part of the country, look around; you are sure to find some evidence that warm days are coming…yaaahooo!

Recently, on one of those warmer days, my husband and I were visiting Bucks County in Pennsylvania, up along the Delaware River in a little village, outside of New Hope. I was told that nearby there was a county park called Ringing Rocks that we might enjoy exploring so we did just that. This is a great little forested area and in the midst of the forest is an open field strewn with rocks and boulders of all shapes and sizes. It is aptly called Ringing Rocks Park because if you use a hammer to lightly strike the boulders, they will vibrate and make a wonderful bell-like sound. It’s a cool phenomenon that is said to be a scientific mystery.

After climbing all over the seven acres of boulders, delightfully making music with our hammers, Robert and I followed a path back into the woods that took us to an area where we found a quickly moving stream that had waterfalls pounding over the rocks. We entertained ourselves there for a couple more hours, sunning on the boulders bordering the stream and taking in the sights and sounds of nature. We found ourselves reverting to childhood pleasures as we made a game of flinging sticks in to the stream to see whose could go the quickest and furthest. We had a blast and in the midst of all the fun, I contentedly realized that simple pleasures such as these are the things that really make me grin!

It got me thinking that in this high tech society we live in, that, unless we pay attention, simple pleasures could quickly become a thing of the past. Technology can be a both a blessing and a curse. Yes, it’s great that we can find information about anything in a flash or that we can communicate via email or voice mail with another person much quicker than we have ever been able to before. However, we live in a time where we are bombarded with items supposedly designed to simplify our life yet with all the choices we have, we have the tendency to spend more money to buy more stuff, which adds to our clutter, and then we get stressed out by all we have. Think about it…we used to be able to go to the store and our toothpaste choice was either Crest or Colgate. Easy! Now, just for toothpaste alone, there are shelves and shelves of many different brands and they come in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of guarantees. Yikes! Where’s the simplicity in THAT? Take a look at all the toys you can buy for your pets. I don’t know about your pets but guess what? My cats’ favorite toys are still old rolled up balls of yarn that they can swat at or a paper grocery bag that they can hide in. They get their greatest pleasure from stuff that costs next to nothing!

My point here is that in the midst of our fast-paced lifestyles, if you long for a brief (or even longer) respite from the pressures of our modern world, there are things you can do. You CAN revive those old simple pleasures. And it doesn’t mean that you have to leave everything behind and escape to the woods to live on nuts and berries. (Although, that sounds pretty good to ME!!) The first thing to do is to simply take stock of your current life. Is there anything out of balance for you? How does it feel? What aspect would you want simplify a bit? What would that look like to you? Maybe it would be taking steps to begin to eliminate some clutter. Perhaps you might want to look at changing some of your consumer habits. It could be that you’d like to look within and take a closer look at some of those self-imposed obligations you’ve set up for yourself. Or better yet, perhaps you’d like to begin to say no more easily. What would YOU want to do to live more simply? What would you be willing to give up? Would you like to spend less time acquiring things and more time acquiring experiences, insights, and relationships? How could you make that happen? What are YOUR simple pleasures?

Remember this…simplification is all relative. A simple pleasure for me is spending a day in the woods. For you, it may be something entirely different. My challenge to you this month is that you explore the idea of simplification in your own life. If that idea appeals to you, play with the questions proposed in the previous paragraph. Then take the next simple step that will define simplicity for YOU, and then simply make it happen! The choice is yours…

Walden by Henry David Thoreau: Thoreau’s’ classic essays on living the simple life in the cabin that he built on the shores of Walden Pond.

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Lindbergh’s timeless meditations on youth and age, love and marriage, and solitude and contentment, as she set them down during a brief vacation by the sea.

Living the Simple Life by Elaine St. James: One in a series of book by St. James on simplifying your life. If you’ve thought about simplification of your life but don’t know where to begin, this might be the resource for you!

To schedule a complimentary 30 minute coaching phone session, email me at patt.adventurecoach@verizon.net or call 609-953-0027