Blog - Kirnan Coaching Associates, LLC

𝗧he Prodigal 𝗦on in 𝗘ach of 𝗨s: 𝗔 𝗙ourth 𝗤uarter 𝗥eflection

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙛, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢; 𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢.” 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝟏𝟓:𝟐𝟎 I don’t really remember when I first heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but it captivates me every time. …

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒐𝒚.” — 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒘 𝟐:𝟏𝟎 Winter in New Jersey has been brutal these past few weeks—temperatures in the low 20s have driven this cyclist indoors. So, on Sunday after Mass, I hopped on my Peloton, and as often happens when my body is moving, …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.” 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚, 𝘼 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙄𝙩 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟮), 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 Holidays can be an especially tender and painful time for …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠

“𝑺𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”, 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, “𝑨 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: 𝑾𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎”, 𝒃𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊 𝑺𝒚𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊 𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑹𝒊𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟖) As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself spending more time reflecting on the growing number …

Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀” 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆

“𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝… 𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙙𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙃𝙞𝙢.” 𝘾.𝙎. 𝙇𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙨, 𝙇𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙢: 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 (𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟰) I was supposed to be walking the Camino Portuguese these past few weeks but had to reschedule …

Career Coaching Executive Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵: 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲

Last week, I was getting ready to depart for my second Camino pilgrimage — the Camino Portugués — by walking the so-called Central Route from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela and then on to Finisterre, Spain, a place often referred to as “the end of the world”. I had spent months training for this …

Bereavement Reflections

Remembering My Great Mentor and Dear Friend — Dr. Michael Luckey

“There are good ships, there are wood ships, there are ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships and may that always be.” An old Irish proverb Do you remember what you were doing when you were 29 years old? Well for me it was in early April 1984. I had just …

Spiritual Coaching Reflections

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐭. 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐭. 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” (𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝟒:𝟔–𝟕) Last week I had the great experience of climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It’s been on my bucket list and something I …

Spiritual Coaching Career Coaching Executive Coaching Leadership Coaching Personal Coaching

The Giving Tree and the Gift of Grandparenting

Once there was a tree….and she loved a little boy…The boy loved the tree and the tree was very happy”, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Yesterday was Grandparents Day and an opportunity to celebrate one of the great blessings in my life: the gift of becoming “Papa Bear” to my four grandchildren — Aurora, Redding, …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬

“𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚.” 𝑳𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚, 𝑫𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆 (𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐) Can you remember the experience of sitting at the kitchen or dining room table growing up? At first glance you might say, “What’s so memorable about that oak table?” After all, …