Hello Hedge Schoolers,
Where are you going in your path in life? Do you have a vision sharp in clarity or are you stuck? Maybe you are snagged on indecision. Maybe you only see mist covering the path ahead. These crossroads can be hard to stand still in. While sight is absent, you harbour a knowing that there is something greater calling out to you.
I've been in that mist many times. It is only on reflection that I can see clearly. These times have often led to my greatest breakthroughs. My greatest growth. In past episodes of Hedge School, I've written about Ariadne's thread and the clues that lie in our past and how Janus, the two-faced God, can assist with helping us move when we can't see at all. Be sure to check those episodes out below for more detail. There is magic in looking back.
The foresight of hindsight
“I’ve learned an important trick: to develop foresight, you need to practice hindsight. Technologies, cultures, and climates may change, but our basic human needs and desires—to survive, to care for our families, and to lead happy, purposeful lives—remain the same. To understand the future, you have to look back at least twice as far as you’re looking ahead.”
Jane McGonigal - Reality Is Broken
Looking back over lives gives us a sense of our wake in life. The past provides clues to moments of aliveness. The aliveness of younger days. When working with clients, I spend time digging into their Flow history and Play history to help chart the wake of their lives.
Where in the past have you lost yourself to the magic of flow or play?
Where were you?
What were you doing?
Who was there?
What were the conditions like?
Are the activities that provided such moments still present in your life?
The process of turning to face our wake is not solely about reminiscence. The clues are part of a recipe of aliveness that many of us have forgotten. And the value lies in sensing our essence. Sensing our Signature Sound. The magic that speaks through us when we surrender to who we truly are. The flame of this aliveness like all beautiful fires needs tending.
It needs kindling.
Needs air.
Needs stoking.
And we do this by sitting in the chair.
Sitting in the Chair of Aliveness
Writing for me has been alive in my bones for as long as I can remember. Books were magic carpet rides to far-off adventures. Creative writing, my modality of choice to bring to life the wonders of my imagination. Language inspired understanding and creative expression. I am forever an apprentice to this craft. I have dedicated myself to doing the reps required to improve. I wrote 750 words a day for two years, with a bank of over 400,000 words a tribute to learning. But the greatest gift is that I still feel alive when I write. There are far-off worlds that I yearn for but I love the process. I love sitting in the chair. The words are a tribute to that aliveness. Many of those 400,000 words are on the cutting room floor, leaving artifacts that make me beam with pride. But also leave plenty of room to grow. I've found a way of speaking through the scratching of my pencil or dances on the keyboard. I am enchanted by the magic of showing up regularly each week to share from my heart. I write to you but not for you. I write because I can't not.
My clues helped provide the hindsight foresight needed to help the mist clear. The space required to tune my ear to sing my song.
So what foresight does your hindsight provide you?
And how can you apprentice to the magic of that?
How to Be Human series - launching next week
My original vision for this humble newsletter was to create a space for co-creation. It makes my heart sing to see that original vision come to fruition. Beginning next week, a dear friend of Hedge School and of mine, Lara Foster will be co-creating a Hedge School series called "How to be Human" with me.
Lara is a Peak Performance Coach | Software & Web Developer who I know through the Flow Genome Project Coaching program. She is an epic human being who writes at Lala's Life Garden, sharing the day-to-day experiences of continuing to live a life in and through flow, connecting to fellow humans, and continuing to adapt with every oncoming challenge and awe-inspiring surprise.
So starting next week, the magic of Lara's prose and dulcet tones will be gifting your inbox as we weave penned letters about the human experience. I'm so excited to see where this goes and I encourage any writers within this beautiful community to reach out and throw their hat in the ring. Hedge School is your platform also. Reply to this post if you are keen, all are welcome.
So till next week beautiful humans,
Steve
Alive in the Chair of Hindsight