Fifty years ago on 12th April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into outer space, completing a single orbit of earth. I can remember the sense of awe and excitement at the time and the feeling that the far reaches of our existence and our universe had been forever extended. Space was ours for the exploring. Who knew what wonders would eventuate?
In America, President Kennedy was in power and in Britain The Beatles were performing in the Cavern Club. It was a Golden Age, full of promise and possibilities and every new day seemed to be bursting with limitless power and boundless potential waiting to be tapped. Later that same year the largest nuclear bomb ever to be tested was detonated in the Soviet Union, representing one of the greatest fears of the teenagers of the time. We grew up under the threat of the mushroom cloud and the prospect of an eternal Nuclear Winter occurring in our lifetime.
Today we are immersed in a different set of hopes and fears and reach out for different dreams and aspirations which are just as powerful and compelling of those that helped define my generation in the 60s. Idealism and a desire for change are no less intense now than they were back then, it’s just the way they are focused and expressed that have developed over time.
While Space is no longer ‘the new frontier’ that it once was, we each and every one still face the challenge of exploring, understanding and conquering the ‘inner space’ of our hearts and minds. One of the most common reasons my clients seek coaching is because they want to be more confidently and completely who they really are, and walk at ease in their inner and outer worlds.
