Shhhh...don't interrupt me ... I'm counting miracles. There. So far today, I've racked up 107 or thereabouts. That in itself is a miracle don't you think? I mean here I am, a dumb kid from Iowa in the Midwestern United States, living in England and presently resting my tired brain in Switzerland. If anyone had suggested when I was 10, this would be my destination in (ahem) "middle age" I would judged them quite firmly mad. Yet miracle of miracles, here I am!
As a kid in Iowa, it wasn't even on the map of my preferred futures to end up in England. It was my mum's preferred future that I should travel and there were at least two occasions during my childhood when, in a fit of pique, I believed she packed my bags for me and suggested a little holiday at my auntie Grace's farm. I didn't go - I knew she loved me really!
Anyway, my dear mother was Irish and full of stories, or turns of phrase, that delighted me. She had a wicked wit and led me to believe that Ireland would be a grand place for a visit. (She frequently made things up, did my mum, but on this occasion she was exactly right). Visiting Ireland led to visiting England and the rest is history.
Thing is, from a preferred future point of view, people may not know the pool of possibilities from which they can choose when we ask about their best hopes. The importance of discussions and extreme listening cannot be overestimated. Even suggesting possibilities, if a client finds this helpful, may open doors that nobody had previously considered.
I wonder what life would be like if my mum had been made the Dispenser of Preferred Futures for the world? Would everyone had ended up living in the UK?
Sent from my iPhone.
Vicky