Week 9/May 10, 2020

Greetings Shift Into Fifth Community,

Week 9 of some kind of shelter in place for most of us....and I'm continuing to think about YOU.

Let's start with a big Happy Mother's Day to all! Nothing like a world-wide pandemic to challenge us to think out of the box and celebrate creatively. Blessings/Lessons abound. Hoping that you all paused and paid tribute to the Moms and all the maternal energy around us. Would love for you to share with me what your celebrations looked like.

Here's one of my favorite Mother's Day Cartoons:

LOOK UP!!!

I grew up in the suburbs of New York City. With a Mom who adored architecture, art and theatre, spending time in Manhattan was a high priority. Wandering around the streets of New York City with her felt like an enormous adventure. As we would move quickly through neighborhoods, my Mom would constantly remind me to "look up." She'd grab my shirt and say, "I've got you...promise. LOOK UP! Lift your head. Don't miss the magic of what's up there-toward the tops of these incredible buildings. Who knows what you'll discover when you do...and what you might miss if you don't." In other words, she was teaching me to stay curious and to keep my eyes/mind/lens open wide.

As I shared, I am sheltering in place in the Sonoran Desert....the only desert in the world with the famed Saguaro cactus (pictures below). These desert "skyscrapers" dominate the landscape. And they are breathtaking in their girth, configuration and beauty. Some quick fun facts-Saguaro are the giants of the desert-rising as high as 60 feet tall and weighing as much as 6 tons. They grow incredibly slowly (a 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall) and live to the ripe old age of 200. Those famous "arms" first appear between 50-70 years and bloom flowers starting at 35 years of age.

This week as I was doing my self care routine of daily wandering/running and picture taking, I was reminded of my Mom's advice to LOOK UP! As I did, I saw something truly amazing-bunches of tubular white flowers with yellow insides covering the tops of each Saguaro's arms and trunk like a crown. Seemingly out of nowhere, at the start of the week, first appearing as green martian-like tubes protruding straight up. Tthen with each passing day, blooming until today, when the horizon is colored by these flowered Saguaro crowns. They open by day. Close by night. The catch though is that you must look up. Keep your eyes open on all levels. Stay curious. The flowers appear nowhere else on the Saguaro other than the very tips of the trunk and the arms. If you're simply looking out at the horizon or down on the ground, you totally miss this amazing phenomena....aka, the magic.

And that's the point! You may be wondering what the heck this has to do with anything we are experiencing now. My answer. On some level. Everything. As we enter this next month of pandemic/Covid-19 surreal and ever changing reality, with varying stages/forms of sheltering in place/opening up, there is a pervasive sense of things closing in. Many clients and members of this SIF Community have shared this sense of feeling like falling into a rabbit hole of endless questions, massive uncertainty and increasing unsure footing. And the result is often feelings of scarcity mixed with powerlessness, anger and low energy. Believe me, I so get it!

This is a time as never before which asks all of us to make the CHOICE to actively LOOK UP...to keep our lenses/aperture/filters as wide as possible...to commit to relentless curiosity....to create and stay in anabolic/growth minded energy....to envision and embrace a mindset of possibilities....allowing us to bring as much of our whole/fabulous selves to the challenges before us.

Remember, change is the one constant. Pandemic or not. Every second, we are changing. It's the one thing that is a sure bet. How we handle change is at the core of how we move through life. My coaching practice is dedicated to supporting and accelerating positive and purposeful change. While there is no one size fits all on HOW to change, or what change will ultimately look like, there are definitely some tried and true tools that help each of us effectuate and move through change positively, productively and position us for sustainable and rewarding success. And LOOKING UP WITH A WIDE LENS (always with the help of STAYING CURIOUS) is one of those key tools.

Developing and sustaining the muscles that support positive and productive action and energy is the work that we continue to do together in the Shift Into Fifth community. Remember, so many of you have started and continue to do the hard work to cultivate and develop the inner tools to stay calm, centered and shift/utilize energy in productive and powerful ways. In other words, you are ready to meet the moment!!!

Please, stay extra vigilant about your own self-care - hydration, nutrition, sleep, exercise/movement, meditation/mindfulness/deep breathing, practicing self-compassion/kindness/gratitude, laughing/smiling, staying super curious (each day asking who are my teachers today/noting lessons learned-today's takeaways), limiting social media/tv/print exposure, actively choosing/ingesting those thoughts/stories/information that support your optimal self etc. Remember, this is a marathon...not a sprint!

Accessing resources is key! Please remember that I have put all the weekly SIF Community Coronavirus/Covid-19 Care Correspondence on my blog (www.shiftintofifth.com) with an additional (growing) list of resources for all of you to use and to share with others. Thanks to many of you, our SIF Community is growing and so is the list of resources-thank YOU!

This week's highlight Covid-19 inspired resource(s) come from actor/comedian Jon Krasinski and former CNN News Anchor/Journalist/positive news junkie Daryn Kagan:

1. SGN-Some Good News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IweS2CPSnbI

2. Uplifting and Positive Stories from Daryn Kagan which includes her TED Talk "How to Watch the News and Get Inspired" - https://darynkagan.com

These are awesome resources for some much needed uplifting stories. Sure. There is no shortage of tough and challenging news. BUT, there are also countless stories of people/groups doing some truly wonderful things. Our brains, bodies and souls need to ingest these stories too. Consider this another form of LOOKING UP. Promise, this is key to support the muscle that keeps your lens/aperture wide.

And I want to remind you that I am here for YOU-to support you in any way that I can. If that means a quick call for you to rant/vent or simply to get a pep talk for you and/or members of your circles, I am here. Creating more anabolic energy for accelerated positive and purposeful change in the world is at the very core of my mission. Supporting YOU is key to that mission.

Stay strong. Be Safe. Stay Healthy. Be kind.

With Gratitude and Purpose,

Valerie

PS. In my work and life, humor is an essential tool for shifting and staying in positive/anabolic energy. Thus, I'm sharing a few new pandemic inspired cartoons/memes. I'm also attaching 2 new podcast episodes that I found particularly inspiring and illuminating (exploring such essential themes as adaptability, kindness, joy, anxiety, laughter, self-compassion, loneliness, grief, responding vs. reacting, connectivity, patience, choice, resilience, gratitude and hope). Please take a moment to listen-you'll be glad you did.

PPS. This week, my shots of the desert's spring magic are focused on these towering majestic flowering Saguaros. The desert has once again put on quite the show. I've thrown in some additional gems from the last week. Each day brings an endless array of new colors and shapes. The power, grandeur and majesty of it all continues to take my breath away. Enjoy!

1. Listen to How to Go Easy on Yourself in a Pandemic | Dr. Kristin Neff from Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris/id1087147821?i=1000471525826

2. Listen to Ep. 118 - Rewire Your Brain for Calm, Clarity, and Joy with Dr. Shauna Shapiro from Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/metta-hour-with-sharon-salzberg/id923019021?i=1000469277135