In the UK, we call it autumn. Across the Atlantic, fall.

Early autumn is harvest time. The fields have yielded their crops. Apples weigh down the branches. Squashes and pumpkins swell upon the ground. Summer’s work has borne fruit, and we can enjoy the fat of the land.

And yet, how often do we stop to notice our own harvest?

In the Seasons of the Change Cycle we use in Equus Coaching, autumn is the season of fruition. We have brought something to completion and are reaping the benefits. We may make small adjustments or ask how life could become even better, but mostly this is a time to appreciate what we have created.

Our negativity bias can keep us vigilant, scanning for the next problem: What isn’t working? What needs improving? What should I do next?

We can gallop straight past the harvest without tasting an apple.

Equus Coaching offers us an opportunity to pause. With a horse as our partner, we might look back at the ground travelled, acknowledge what we have created and feel it in our bodies. We might celebrate an achievement, tweak what we are doing or simply experience standing somewhere that once seemed far away.

This work is powerful because it is visceral. We don’t only talk about change; we experience it. With the help of a trained Equus Coach, we can experiment with the horse, try something different and notice what allows us to move forward. The learning is felt in the body, giving us an experience to draw upon in everyday life.

In winter, something has ended or fallen apart. I have worked with grieving clients in this space, where the invitation is not to rush forwards but to stand still, allow emotions to be felt and gently loosen the thinking that keeps suffering stuck. We might work with a horse in a stall, on a halter, in a paddock or round pen.

Spring is for dreaming and scheming, when new possibilities emerge. There may be more movement as a client experiments with leading, following, changing direction or inviting the horse forwards.

Summer is the season of implementation. There is often far more to do than we imagined. Like growing crops, the process doesn’t always go to plan. We encounter obstacles. Conditions change. Our first attempts may not work. Equus Coaching can help clients experiment, adjust and try again, while exploring the fears and beliefs that make progress harder—and checking that the goal still feels true.

Then, eventually, we return to autumn.

Of course, our whole lives rarely occupy one season at once. Our work might be bearing fruit while a relationship is in winter. A long-held dream may show the first green shoots of spring while another part of life is deep in summer’s work.

Each season asks something different of us, and each client needs something different from the horse, the coach and the space between them.

So, before hurrying towards the next thing, perhaps this is the season to ask:

What part of my life might be in autumn right now?

What has grown there?

What have I gathered?

Have I allowed myself to enjoy the harvest?

How can I celebrate or honour what I have cultivated all the more?

 

If you would like to find out more about Joanna Shipley's Life, Leadership and Equus Coaching (online and in person), or sign up to her occasional Sunday 'loveletters', please see her website www.joannashipley.com