This Hydrangea plant just 6 weeks ago was full of blossoms and healthy, thick, dark green leaves. The pot it came in was heavier-than-usual so I mistakenly read its weight as saying water was sufficient. I basically nearly killed it.  Time to practice CPR.

This little Hydrangea has come back from its NDE – near-death experience – with some powerful life lessons.  

As you can see from the photos, one branch still had a dead blossom on it. As life began to return with regular watering and some worm-castings tea, something jumped out at me right away. The branch with the dead blossom had no new sprouts on it while all the other “dead” branches did. What a teaching: when you hold on to something old, you block the energy of the new.

In human life, the Big Old is outworn beliefs: things we took as true, that just aren’t. Maybe we learned them from our culture; maybe from our faith community; maybe from our schools; maybe from our parents. Maybe our withered but still impactful big Old Beliefs came from ancestors we never met. Maybe we concluded them based on a distorted view of our experiences. Their sources are myriad and they govern our lives far more than we imagine.

For me, the most generative learnings have sprung up when I recognized and moved past my Old Beliefs. Many of these related to what “I couldn’t” or “I can’t” do. Yet I can do things today I believed I couldn’t do 15 years ago! At my age, I should be less able, yet in key ways, I am more able. My walk is more and more reliable as I shed Old Beliefs. My step is lighter. I’m more available to others.

What’s the key? A coach would ask you, “What if you could?” When you ask yourself “what if I could?” you’re inviting a powerful perspective shift and that’s what it takes. You can invite perspective shifts by challenging every one of your assumptions as you notice them. The more you challenge and release, the more you’ll see. It’s like Spring cleaning any time you do it and it’s self-sustaining.

The beauty that Nature always displays is shown in the lovely shapes of the new leaves in all of their stages. When I let my perspective shift, I notice this beauty and am nourished by it. This makes me feel a part of this world and feel grateful for  it’s intelligence and generosity. Loneliness and boredom have no place in such a world – just more and more connectedness.