nature - Transformative Yes! Coaching

06Feb 2024 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Minding The Little Things | Ice Crystals

There is such beauty in nature, such fragility and such joy. I happen to notice a lot of that in the little things that don't last long, such as ice crystals. Starting the day with that exquisite attention to detail creates a focus for my day that grounds my baseline mood in gratitude. Ice Crystals (February 6, 2024)

16Oct 2023 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Stewardship & Serenity

Connecting with Nature

So often we find ourselves in despair because there is too much to worry about. Picking apart what can and cannot be changed can be a great way to empower ourselves and the ones in our care. Recently, my daughter expressed her frustration about worldwide pollution. It seemed that along with the sharing of facts, the school does little to catch those young minds as they battle the implications of what was shared with them. Tangled up in her questions, her frustration and her eagerness to make the world a better place, she asked me with some exasperation, what she can actually do. I pointed out that we are conscious of the packaging we buy, and we are purposeful with the way we use our car and the fuel (both…

29Sep 2023 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

An Invasive Species?

Connecting with Nature, Mindfulness, Nature, Personal Development

A few years back I was asked to raise three newly hatched starlings that had been found at the foot of a big tree by an old lady. Reluctantly, I took on those birds, and lo and behold I was able to raise and release them successfully. Whenever I see or hear starlings since then, I like telling my daughter that those are our three starlings saying thank you. Today, a extraordinarily big flock of starlings landed around the house and well beyond the creek. They were so loud it was both amazing and a little bit intimidating. Afterwards I thought about writing about this, as in "I had rescued the starlings and they came back with all their friends to thank me", when I remembered that European starlings are…

08Aug 2023 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Connecting over Garbage

Connecting with Nature, Getting to know your Coach, Mindfulness, Nature

At first, we saw some garbage, the usual, a few discarded food containers, a coffee cup lid, carelessly dropped or lost by the inattentive visitor. Nothing that could not easily be picked up and collected in a small garbage bag later (and I generally do, because it hurts my eye more to see the garbage than it is an effort to pick it up and dispose of it in a designated spot). It was a hot Sunday. We decided to go for a swim at a place along a river, where the water cascading over sheet rock is easy to access and not too deep. Walking on we came across an abandoned campsite, with bottles and aluminum foil in the fire pit. Right next to it was a good sized…

28Jun 2023 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Minding the Little Things

Connecting with Nature, Mindfulness, Nature

Leopard Frog I just came across a very small (what I believe to be a) leopard frog. Why I saw it? – Because it moved. Once it stopped, I had a hard time finding it again. Can you spot it in the picture-insert? Leopard Frog, June 28, 2023 When I held out my hand the frog jumped on it. It did not stop but kept moving, and I felt fortunate to get one shot with the little amphibian in focus. I am sharing this experience, because I felt so passionate about this sighting, so amazed at how tiny, how perfect and how fragile this little frog is. That created a sense of responsibility and reverence in me. What I learned from the encounter: Frogs are amazing. Life is precious. I…

06Jun 2023 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Your Body Has You Covered

Connecting with Nature, Mental Fitness, Mindfulness

When the fog is too thick for you to find your way around, your body knows where to go. That might be a bit of a metaphorical exaggeration. Please bear with me as I unroll my thoughts: Unfortunately, our area is currently experiencing dense smog from wildfires in this and other provinces of Canada. While we cannot really smell it (unlike yesterday, when the smell of a cold fire pit hung in the air), my chest felt heavy this morning, I felt reluctant to take a deep breath, and a headache was (and is) lingering. I pointed out to my daughter that there are people who spend their lives in conditions like this, where the air is polluted all the time. And how lucky we can be that this is…

02Dec 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Playing to our strengths

Connecting with Nature, Mental Fitness, Mindfulness, Personal Development

Playing to your strength means doing what you are able to do well, rather than doing other things. An example: A friend’s son was assessed for ADHD. In the process, it was found that he is simply a kid who needs more physical exercise than he was getting in school and at home. It was not easy, but the school and the parents found ways for him to get more play time outside and more time when he is unplugged from any technical devices. This story led me to think about people in general: - Are we living our lives playing to our strengths or are we just playing along with the structures we find ourselves in?- How can we create the lives that make it possible for us to…

01Dec 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Unique Animals

Connecting with Nature, Getting to know your Coach

We have been enjoying the very unique personalities of several domestic ducks. It all began with a few barnyard-mix ducklings in 2021. In 2022, two Magpie-Cayuga ducklings followed. A number of them were males, so we found them loving new homes where they have been enjoying their own flocks of duck-ladies. At the end of this summer, we had one female (Sunny) and one male (Magnum) left. For the second time in her life, Sunny was in the process of laying eggs, and for the second time in my life, I was collecting those eggs. Sunny did not want to accept the fate I had chosen for her – that is, not to have ducklings in late fall. I kept reminding her that it is much more sensible to raise…

30Sep 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Coaching with #ManuCoach4You

About your Coach, Getting to know your Coach

I work with people with a strong environmental conscience, who want to live a sustainable and responsible life without sacrificing what they love doing and thereby creating and strengthening their authentic self. My target group feels stuck between the responsibilities of (mid-)life, while yearning for more self-determination and connectedness to the natural world and the freedom of their younger years. There might be stress, anxiety, burn-out, and other internal or external conflicts that seem daunting. Through mental fitness training and coaching in, around and with the help of nature, I assist them in carving out time and energy to step into their full potential and experience their autonomy and authenticity. I do that by assisting them in reframing the problems into opportunities for growth. I have a long history of…

28Jan 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Multiple Perspectives

Connecting with Nature, Getting to know your Coach, Mindfulness, Personal Development

Essentially, things just are. We attribute meaning to things and events. Sometimes we dwell in the negative aspects or implications of something, when there really are other sides to everything. In coaching we use this principle, and we call it reframing: We encourage a different perspective or seeing something in a different light. Today, I did this with my sandpit: Part of our property consists of a former sandpit that was left in its soil-deprived state. For the past 25 years, nothing more than a few tough grasses, willows and even fewer very tough pines and cedars (all looking like bonsais) have been growing here. In the summer, this bothers my agriculturalist’s heart. Now, with a little bit of snow, the steep banks make marvelous sliding hills. And I wonder…

12Nov 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

The World of Little Things: Seeds

Uncategorized

Again, I was walking home from the school bus, when my gaze fell upon a little milkweed seed on the ground. It was glistering with dew drops. While the general scene, albeit sunny and not too cold, was rather brown – mind you, it is November and nature supposed to be brown – that little seed was a sparkling messenger of life and hope. Have you ever thought of all the beauty we might miss, by focusing on the big picture only?

05Nov 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

The World of Little Things: Ice Crystals

Uncategorized

We had a few frosty nights. In the mornings, on the way to the school bus, I keep finding the most beautiful ice crystals. I keep thinking how intricate they are. I realize that the world does not end where my attention ends. And I am in awe. What do you think? What’s a seemingly little thing that you were in awe of? Please share a comment or a photo!

13Oct 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer

Less Knowing More Being

Connecting with Nature, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Philosophy

Sometimes I wonder about the scope of our awareness. My ego does not agree, but my intuition tells me that there is more than I can perceive. Nature taught me a valuable lesson about that: I have been baffled many times by the perseverance of ants, walking back and forth on their established routes, carrying up to twenty (!) times their body weight. I kept thinking about their world view: What do they see? What do they perceive the world to be? And where does the world as they know it end? While I am aware that the average ant might not be thinking those thoughts, I inferred that their world view is probably more limited than ours. Yet, they might confidently state: “This is how the world is!” We…

Tag: nature