Leaping Off a Roof

Every morning, when I wake up, I feel grateful for that fact that my room has an attached balcony that faces exactly east. When I walk out on it, I stare right into the face of a beaming sunrise and smile back, letting the warmth and the light soak in. It's wonderful to begin the day with gratitude for everything I have in my life - especially the Light which makes me See.

On one such morning, as I stood on the balcony enjoying Bangalore's brilliant weather, I observed something that has stayed with me since. It made a huge difference to my learning as a person and as a Coach. Recently, it also emerged spontaneously in a coaching session with a client and facilitated insights that helped to shift our perspectives on the issues that we were dealing with. I'd love to share it with you in this space. 

What I saw was a squirrel - a brown, furry little bundle of energy, milling about madly on the the rooftop of the house that faces mine. The rooftop was quite bare, but the squirrel was running about it like a thing possessed, exploring every inch of it - every slope, every tile. It's manner of doing this seemed so random and disorganized that I watched in complete amusement - marveling at its speed and vigor - much in the same way as I watch a toddler babble incessantly with a new-found gift of speech!

And then I realized that there was a method to the little squirrel's madness. It was doing something that suddenly made sense to me. You see, as much as it milled about on the rooftop, it kept running up to the edge, appearing to be looking for something. From any part of the roof, it would suddenly dart towards the edge with shocking speed and come to a dead halt the moment it touched the edge - just when I was convinced its momentum would carry it over. What in the world did it want to do? 

The realization hit me - it wanted to get out of there - it wanted to jump! But how, I wondered? It had probably climbed onto the roof from the ground, using the pipes that line the house - but I couldn't imagine it jumping off - everything it could possibly hope to reach, seemed so far off to me! "Poor thing!" I thought "Get back to the pipes and climb down!" But no, the little creature was clearly set on trying something different. It seemed to have zoomed in on one spot - a spot that it kept revisiting, to look upwards with a quick jerk - as if judging something. As I followed its movements I realized it was staring at the tip of a branch, preparing to leap at it. "NO!" I thought. "You'll never make it, little one! Please don't jump! You could get hurt!" 

And yet it did - it spun around, darted to a spot from where it would start the run, sped forward to the edge, paused for just a moment and then leaped... It stayed in the air for one long, heart-stopping moment - this frail, delicate little creature, stretched out in the air, against the morning sky - and then it landed. Plumb on the tip of that branch, clinging on with jubilant energy, bending the thin branch forward for a bit. I could almost 'hear' its exultation before it vanished into the foliage with a happy squeak.

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"The Squirrel's Leap" as I call it, spoke volumes to me about taking a risk. Doing something that we want to do in core of our beings, even if an onlooker or society or even our our own conditioning says we shouldn't. It's about taking the "leap of faith" - following our hearts and intuition. 

While coaching, the memory of this incident becomes a symbol of following my instinct when working with a client. It reminds me to follow my gut when asking questions and BEING with the client, i.e. present with every fiber of myself. Sometimes I ask a question that takes me to a different "platform" with the client - exploring a different avenue - just like the squirrel had to leave the platform of the rooftop. I have to follow my instinct and go where my heart leads me in the session. The faith with which I make this leap is faith that I will get somewhere because I care for the client I am coaching and that this care will take me forward with the session. I've never seen this fail till date. Breakthroughs happen when we least expect it.

The squirrel is a symbol of taking risks - joyfully. It's about leaving the known, to explore to unknown with excitement. It's about seeing what's there to explore in the given moment and going out there to explore it with enthusiasm. Sometimes this means venturing into a completely different space - and sometimes it's just about doing things differently right where you are. You need to take a call based on your instinct - and trust it to begin with!

Those were my insights - sourced from a little squirrel on a gorgeous sunny morning. I'd love to hear what comes up for you. Feel free to write in!

Parting words - Jump! Try something new - open yourself to experience - you're going to love it!