Heart Map Coaching

I coached today and while I coached, I went in and out of my head.  I looked for sign posts, itty bitty bread crumbs that would lead me to the heart of "the problem" so that I could solve, resolve, fix.  If I view coaching using the metaphor of a boat, it appears that the waters are rough when I first enter the boat, turbulent in fact as I seek to map a course so that I am settled into what needs to be done, traveling the course that will take my client to some destination.  As I look for and cannot find my bearings, I take the boat off course, and as I realize I am doing this, I see my fellow passenger...it is then I know and remember, that I am an invited guest, and that while I can hold and read the map, charting the course is  the clients job, not mine. It's not my boat, not my ride, not my trip, not my destination.  The amazingly astoundingly beautiful thing is this~when I play First Mate rather than Captain, the clients boat always takes us somewhere....and it never ever ever looks like I thought it would, it is far more glorious and rich than I anticipated.  The client always knows where they want to go, their heart will lead them there, the coach looks for the map of the heart, and follows.