Notes from the ongoing practice of being human and coach, perfectly imperfect, alive, and ever evolving.
I turned over my wardrobe this morning. Summer now sits on my bed, awaiting the storage bins that will require me to accept that Winter is coming.
As I took each piece out of my wardrobe, I reflected on the cavalcade of feelings, emotions, space and adjustment this Summer gifted me with, my first in a life suddenly rewritten, still tender in its unfolding.
June was full of promise and rich with anticipation. I sensed that good things were on the horizon and I experienced a delightful and powerful somatic shift. My creativity returned and in the spaciousness my body finally released… in the form of a giant cold. With a little help from Buckley’s, it passed. I delivered at a three-day conference to roughly 100+ people, coaching the room solo, courageously committed to transformation in the face of skepticism and challenge. With that complete it brought me face to face with my approaching 60th birthday. The final days of June were full of nostalgia and reflection, trips down memory lane and a giant “POW” of reminder that “love is always the through line”. When things get complex, love is the thing we can come back to, the beautiful constant in this complex life.
July arrived along with my 60th on one of my favourite celebrations, Canada Day. If it’s possible to feel lost and also found at the same time, jubilant and rolling in waves of grief, that was July. To soothe my soul I walked sun scorched fields and got outrageously supported by my family, long time friends, and colleagues. To ensure I maintained my mental fitness and health, I shored up in therapy, supervision, and with several different coaches and peer groups. I worked hard in family gardens, and also in my own small patio garden. Hands in the soil, head in the clouds. Precious days with my grandson brought laughter and simplicity to my doorstep. I spent my between-client-breaks paddling in the ocean and running the Saanich Peninsula beaches with the dogs.
August became a blur of red, white and blue, the cacophony of sirens my symphony as my Mum and I navigated hospitals, ICU’s and emergency visits with my Dad. Endless rounds of radiation left him withered and exhausted. It’s absurd to say but still true that we laughed amidst the panic. We lost him and got him back, trading bad jokes along the way in the wry Scottish way. Somewhere along the way, we mended generations of hurt; stormy skies gave way to clarity, family forged once again. Loss, humour, healing and renewal weaving August into a rich tapestry.
This morning, I glimpse September’s colours through the resilient cedars and feel the crispness in the air. A season stirring clarity, creativity, and the bold determination to move forward unafraid.
As I fold this summer away, making space for what’s next, I carry this truth: this is the work and the gift to live and coach in the fullness of it all, imperfect, alive, ever evolving.
Personal and Relationship Coaching
At the heart of our lives are the relationships we carry with ourselves, with others, with change itself. In these spaces, Tracey Burns offers steady support: a place to untangle, to listen deeply, to speak with courage, and to find new ways of being that bring more ease and connection.
Support may look like:
- Rediscovering clarity and confidence
- Strengthening communication and softening conflict
- Deepening intimacy and relationship
- Rooting in resilience and self-trust
- Navigating the turning points of life
Every relationship holds the possibility of greater peace, connection, and fulfillment. With professional guidance, you can begin to weave those possibilities into your own life.
