What story does a picture tell?

What story does a picture tell?

life and leadership coaching lantz howard

Let me introduce you to Mushanga, but first some context. 

We are bombarded with images on an ongoing basis that we rarely take time to process what our eyes are seeing and how it can capture our hearts.

Earlier this year I was doing advanced coach training around Coaching the Whole Person and one of the exercises we did together was real-time coaching around a topic and one image. I choose an image of a horse for my session.

Recently our family got back from our family vacation in southwest Colorado and we spent time horseback riding, hiking, crashing on the alpine slide (took four weeks for my leg to heal), and walking through art galleries. (Image below of two of my girls on the edge of a cliff. The San Juan Mountains in the background.)

During our trip to CO we visited an amazing burger place and as we entered there were four large canvas pictures from a local photographer that captured my heart and imagination. 

You see a few years ago I was in a coaching session with a man who was facing a difficult transition and at that moment God put on my heart to share Isaiah 63:13, which says; “who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble.” In that space, he needed to hear that God would lead him through this difficult season and he would rest in ultimate freedom.

When I got home I texted this picture below to this former client to encourage him and let him know that this image reminded me of that day together. 

He replied back, “One of the most memorable moments for me during those years spent together.”

Did you see the above question, Who is Mushanga? 

This is Mushanga. 

Mushanga was hanging in the burger joint that day and the image I share is from Randy who is the professional photographer of Mushanga. 

Every artist has a story about their picture. 

I called Randy when I got home and asked him about the image in the burger joint and on the back of his business card.  

Randy goes on to tell me that the horse was a wild horse in Wyoming that he rescued and brought home.

Over time Randy has now trained this horse to be “his” horse. 

The heart of many stories I hear when coaching is this desire for freedom, but the real story is to be restored, to be known, and not stumble like a horse in open country. (One of the greatest lies high achievers face is leading in isolation.)

The thing about wild horses from a distance is they are free. Yet freedom without being known is not freedom. We all need a Randy in our life who will gently lead us from the wild open country, speak our name, and bring us home. 

Coaching Questions:

What image is on your phone that is speaking to you lately?

Reply to this email I would love to hear from you.

Would you like to experience the transformative power of coaching through images?

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