The Courage to Come Home

Over the past few months, I’ve been a little quieter here.
Life, however, has been awe and wonder-filled.

I’ve spent the past year painting, writing, reading poetry aloud in the woods, recording audio, facilitating workshops, speaking at conferences and exploring creative reflective practice with coaches, supervisors, leaders and other helping professionals around the world. Alongside all of that, I’ve been immersed in bringing Brave Journey Home: Holding Space for Creative Reflection into the world.

I’m delighted to share that the manuscript is now complete and preparing for its final copy edit. Yippee!
When I began writing, I accepted an invitation from many readers of Choir of Brave Voices. They were ready for another collection of reflective resources, and I was curious to discover where that invitation might lead. As the months unfolded, the journey expanded my own understanding of creative reflective practice and of the ways it supports us in accompanying others with presence, curiosity and care.

One of the greatest privileges has been learning alongside practitioners. Workshops, supervision, coaching conversations and keynote presentations became places where ideas could be explored together. Every conversation expanded my perspective. Every question invited further reflection. Every shared experience strengthened my appreciation that creative reflective practice enriches professional practice by welcoming the many different ways people notice, understand and make meaning of their experience.

One conversation shaped the book in a particularly important way. A participant shared their experience of living with aphantasia, opening a rich conversation about the wonderfully diverse ways human beings imagine, learn and understand. Their perspective expanded my appreciation of inclusion. I found myself recognising creativity as an invitation into reflection through many different pathways. Images, metaphor, poetry, conversation, movement, nature and working with our hands each create opportunities for people to engage in ways that feel meaningful to them.

That conversation encouraged me to think more deeply about the purpose of creative reflective practice.
Creative reflective practice has become one of the ways I continue coming home to myself. Every reflective conversation, every image, every poem and every creative exploration offers another opportunity to notice, understand and appreciate more of who I am. As my self-awareness continues to grow, my capacity to accompany others grows alongside it. Professional development and personal development travel together, each enriching the other.

This year also brought opportunities to explore these ideas with wonderful communities. During the Team Coaching Global Alliance Summit I shared creative approaches to team coaching. During International Supervision Week I revisited The Seven-Eyed Model of Supervision According to Winnie the Pooh. Preparing for those sessions reminded me how much courage it takes to trust our own way of working, especially when it grows from our own unique ways of seeing and making meaning. The conversations that followed were full of curiosity, generosity and possibility. I’m delighted that the recordings are now available for anyone who would like to explore them.

The journey also brought one question into sharper focus.

How do we create spaces where people recognise, trust and continue developing their own unique ways of noticing, learning and making meaning?

I believe this question sits at the heart of coaching, supervision, leadership and every helping profession.
It also sits at the heart of Brave Journey Home.

The book celebrates creative reflective practice through artwork, poetry, metaphor, reflective questions, practical explorations and audio reflections. Together they offer different pathways into reflection, inviting readers to deepen self-awareness, strengthen professional practice and accompany others with greater wisdom, creativity and care.
At a time when artificial intelligence is transforming many aspects of our lives and work, I find myself becoming increasingly interested in the qualities that express our shared humanity: our capacity to notice deeply, create meaning from experience, build relationships, imagine possibilities and continue learning throughout our lives. These qualities enrich our work, strengthen our communities and remind us that every person brings something valuable.

One of the greatest lessons this journey has offered me is that coming home to ourselves is an ongoing practice. Curiosity opens the door. Reflection expands our understanding. Community helps us recognise strengths, possibilities and perspectives that continue enriching our lives and our work. As we continue exploring our own unique ways of making meaning, we expand our capacity to accompany other people with wisdom, creativity and care.

That is the invitation at the heart of Brave Journey Home.

Over the coming months I’ll be sharing more of the artwork, poetry, stories and reflections that have shaped this journey, together with the newly available videos of The Seven-Eyed Model of Supervision According to Winnie the Pooh, news about the November launch and opportunities to continue exploring these ideas together.

I’d love you to travel the next part of the journey with me.