If you can, at this time, sense it: Spring in the air - including Spring of the Soul, then how do you set about spreading the good news? There can't just be one way alone; obviously one person goes about it one way another does it in a different way.

In the Business World of today I keep bumping into the word 'direct': Direct Insurance, Direct Booking, Direct this and Direct that. I suspect this is a phrase that will pass. Experience has shown that the best way to rectify such phrases is NOT to react. .. . keep the passage between your ears well lubricated, allowing the noxious words to escape as readily as they have got in. Direct Access. Direct Exit! And when it comes to spreading good news.... directness is - (this much is absolutely sure) - a complete non-starter.

Let me illustrate. For many years my business was Health Adviser. Where I live we have always had substantial problems with chest complaints, and recognizing this, I set my stall out to treat such folk. Described in words, the procedure was relatively straight forward: I would tell them to go home and make a number of significant life style changes. The rest, I assured them, would take care of itself... Not by any means do all theories work in practice - this is one that does. The test lies in convincing the client, winning them over. The sufferer who only has ears for a quick fix will, when confronted with my type of advice, turn around and say: "Bravo, I'm sure your treatment works, but I cannot afford the time or money, Mr H, I'm afraid, I will have to find a more Direct approach" . A standard response. But - and this would happen quite regularly - such people would surface again two or three years later, not one whit better.

Can the reader work it out for himself? Of course he/she can:

Slow is sure: Travel the Direct Line..... and miss your target by a mile.

Often when I get together with friends I get this funny feeling that our conversation is multi layered like a Sandwich Cake. Rarely do we get beyond the top layer. Instead, we find ourselves so animated with our chatter that a discussion based directly on the deeper layers simply does not happen. But for all that - please note: punch line coming up ...... for all that, we part with the distinct feeling that we have been discussing profound matters - good news.

Felix Heimer is a Naturopath Practitioner.

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