Episode Seventeen - Whilst the Earth burns - Coaching, ecology and unanswered questions
"The more I read and the more conversations I have, the further I seem from any form of answer. And perhaps that's a healthier place to be".
Anna-Marie Watson, Rooted & Rising podcast host, coach, collaborator
In this first-ever solo episode of Rooted & Rising, Anna-Marie steps away from the interview format to share personal reflections on coaching, ecology, spirituality and the questions that she’s been musing over in her mind. This is an honest, contemplative conversation about slowing down, embracing uncertainty, and remembering what it means to belong not just to our professions, but to the Earth itself.
Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, she explores observations from her coaching practice: exhaustion, uncertainty and the growing tension between human wellbeing, organisational demands and planetary health. There’re no easy answers, and instead invites listeners into a space of curiosity, asking what coaching is really for and whether it is evolving quickly enough to meet the challenges of our time.
Anna-Marie also reflects on her own journey over the past year navigating personal change, redefining spirituality beyond religion as a deep sense of relationship with the living world, starting to write a new book on ecospiritual coaching and creating her home in Somerset, England.
Listen here.
About
Change agent, connector, coach, collaborator and podcaster Anna-Marie combines her passion and curiosity for peak performance across her work and life. She brings a wealth of over twenty-five years’ international experience to craft a portfolio career.
She is a self-certified learning junkie with a Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Coaching from the University of Derby and Master’s in Teaching from the University of Sydney; amongst other psychological and psychometric based coaching tools. Happiest outdoors Anna-Marie loves to escape the confines of four walls and co-create coaching conversations with nature.
Anna-Marie is on a mission to encourage a different approach to work where our natural environment is valued within the business world. She facilitates outdoor coaching supervision circles; co-hosted the biweekly ‘Coaching Outdoors’ podcast for five years; co-wrote chapters in ‘The Coaches Handbook’ and ‘Succeeding as a Coach’ on eco-coaching and co-edited 'The Outdoor and Nature Coaches Handbook'. She was a driving force behind the two successful Coaching Outdoors Podcast LIVE @ Henley Business School festivals.
Former British Army Officer, she has worked in challenging environments from snowy Arctic tundra to hot and sandy deserts though currently resides within the rolling countryside of Somerset. Alongside her passion for performance and coaching Anna- Marie has a severe ultra-running habit and has raced competitively at an international level.
Website: www.rfmcoaching.com
Insights
Bewitched by the novel... Greenwood by Michael Christie
Inspired by the quote... 'Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one and precious life" from the poem 'The Summer Day' by Mary Oliver.
Self-described relationship with nature... We are nature*
Note* Though as a collective species we seem to have forgotten this!
Favourite pastimes... I love hedgerow foraging, hanging out in PJ my campervan, roaming the land with Bryn my four-legged companion, indulging in my daily coffee ritual and running.
Behind the scenes image... Lazy summer evening hanging out (literally in my seated hammock!) as the sun sets in Somerset with a novel and non-alcoholic beer.
