It's December, and it's been a busy year for all. Just when we thought the pandemic topped it all, we have a war in Ukraine, nuclear posturing, a cost-ofliving crisis, serial Prime Ministers and we have yet to see if that's 'trumped' by serial presidents! Whether a royalist or not, the demise of Queen Elizabeth II has made a significant impact upon the population in terms of their sense of continuity at times of real change.
Notwithstanding all this, the most critical challenge ahead remains the climate crisis, a clear and accelerating threat. We should not enter 2023 believing it should be subordinate to short term issues of the economy or just about anything else as this is truly a ‘bigger picture’ issue that all must take responsibility for.
The climate scientists have in many ways been over conservative and we are in a situation wherein billions of years of Earth’s biospheric balance and hundreds of millions of years of evolution could be subordinate to significant planetary change and species extinction. Let’s all reflect in the year ahead, particularly those fatalists who substitute responsibility with an abdicate inevitability for the world whilst continuing to generate vast carbon footprints with their chosen lifestyles and business practices.
I could be more profound, but as is the tendency in this part of the year to write to those who read my article’s regularly, to the many wonderful clients that we have within Gedanken and to our loyal and reliable affiliate base with heartfelt thanks to all for placing their trust in what we do. Thanks to them also for being prepared to take a bit of a walk on the wild side in the context of their business and personal thinking, raise their awareness, explore their values, build teams, develop strategies and most of all, look for the advantages that are hiding in plain sight that so often our service throws light upon.
We continue our journey of seeking to make life an intellectual, emotional and spiritual journey with a strong credo to “keep the humanity in a busy world”, a vision developed when the company was formed in 2006 and remains evermore relevant in a world of increasing inequality, apparent injustice and rampant self-interest. I’m pleased to see we have Lyn joining us as a new coach in the year ahead. Equally pleasing is the return of Michael, who having cut his therapeutic skills with Gedanken has, after further training and experience elsewhere come back to our small community to continue his journey with us. Thanks as always to Angie and Christine who continue their journey with us as stalwart associates, each with their own unique contributions.
Lastly, but not least, the ever-diligent Jeanine continues to ensure our varied work here runs smoothly and coordinates so much with understanding, grace and good humour.
In the January to March, we are putting together some specific ‘surgeries’ to allow people who have never had the experience of the power of coaching and personal development work, including those that perhaps have had unsatisfactory experiences elsewhere, to get a sense of what it’s like to work with Gedanken. These sessions will be 45 minutes long, held in our Team Valley office and for which we will ask for a very small deposit/donation for the sake of good faith and your own ‘skin in the game,’ which will be given to one of the charities we support. In common with all important conversations, we have at Gedanken, we can guarantee it will be a worthwhile use of your time and effort. Feel free to contact Jeanine at admin@gedanken.co.uk to request a session.
The year ahead will see more articles here from Gedanken, some featuring the great clients that we have the privilege and pleasure to support, some commentary on social, psychological, business and political issues, as well as a deeper dive into areas such as mental health, leadership, systems, CSR and ethics, all of which are very centre stage in a post pandemic issues that comes with the climate crisis and some economic realities, that even the most resourceful are increasingly finding themselves struggling with.
But that’s for 2023, meantime, may I extend customary season’s greetings and every wish for 2023 to be great for you and the planet. Let’s ‘be’ the change we want to see!