Greetings From Maine
Did you happen to read the letter I sent you last week? It was a big week for me! I went to upstate New York where I led my first coaches retreat and welcomed six new women to the PBA team.
My assistant Sachiko and I prepared each meal, facilitated workshops, led activities, and ensured our coaches were comfortable during their stay. It was also fun to have a former coach, Tay Coverdale, host a workshop on leadership; what it means to lead as an embodied coach.
After a weekend like that, I’ve never felt more cognizant of the fact that I have a responsibility to train my coaches and students as an embodied leader. So how does one go about doing that?
As I processed the events of that weekend, something new was brewing in mind.
I had an idea.
A calling, if you will.
“I want to go to Maine,” I said, looking at Tay as we were driving.
This was the first time I heard my idea out loud. I wanted to test it—to see how the words would sound once they left my mouth.
“Why?” asked Tay, “What’s in Maine?”
“I have PBA coming up in a few weeks and I want to prepare myself mentally and open myself up to inspiration. I guess I just want to be in nature for a little while. Go into the stillness.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
We were stopped at a traffic light.
“Look,” Tay said as she pointed to the car in front of us. “That license plate says Maine on it.”
We looked at each other and smiled.
The next few days I spent researching short-term rentals in Maine and sending emails to potential hosts.
A week had gone by with nothing promising to show for it.
Maine had felt right. Hadn’t it? So why wasn’t it working?
Finally, I decided to stop looking. The hunt to find something was beginning to pester me and I needed to move on.
Right as I was about to shut my laptop, I searched one last time.
I plugged in new dates and broadened my search on Airbnb.
Bingo.
Not more than an hour later, I was on the phone with the host. She was warm and personal. We hit it off immediately and by the end of our phone call, I knew it was right.
And it was.
Fast forward a week, I arrived here about an hour ago. (Hot off the press!) And it already feels so nourishing to be in such a serene and beautiful place.
It may appear unrelated, but taking a trip to Maine is what being an embodied leader means to me right now. I yearned to spend time alone and work somewhere that felt peaceful and quiet. My intuition (and maybe a license plate) were pointing to Maine. So, here I am; ready to enjoy the natural beauty, plunge deep into my work, and prepare for the next round of PBA.
How are you spending the last days of summer? I’d love to hear from you.
Anna Vatuone
P.S. I literally just looked up the state motto of Maine and it's “Dirigo” which is Latin for “I Lead." Ahhhhh!
