THE COMPOSING METAPHOR For years I have grappled with the question of what is involved in creating and embodying an ideal life.  A person who is "composed" radiates an inner focus which provides clarity and enables achievements in the outer world. Adopting the metaphor of "Composing Your Life" has added depth and fullness to my understanding by incorporating the richness of multiple art forms. In each instance, the starting point of the creative endeavour is the calm centre where we access our true nature, allowing the breath of life itself to pass freely through our minds, bodies, hearts and spirits ...  In music a composition is created which happens over TIME and goes through various TRANSITIONS. When we examine our lives in this way, we engage with and reframe our transitions, discontinuities and growth in an organic fashion; we compose our lives as works with artistic unity, like a symphony with very different movements.               In the visual arts, components are placed together and create BALANCE in SPACE. A visual composition involves form and colour; disparate elements are arranged and re-arranged until they are harmonized and in equilibrium.     In writing, stories are composed as lenses for interpreting experience as it comes along. The CHOICES which we make about these interpretations has enormous impact for the way we approach the future. We can play with and compose multiple versions of our own lives; we are empowered as we reclaim our creative abilities to compose our own life narratives, accepting RESPONSIBILITY for our choices and ACCOUNTABILITY for our actions. Solution-focused coaching offers the ideal tool-kit to make this journey of composing both possible and positive.