Thursday, March 12, 2020

Don't panic...it's spring...time to clean

Wow, what a month!  Yesterday, I found myself getting lost in the "what if loop".  It wasn't fear of the virus. I'm confident in our abilities to prevent and heal from that. No, what I was feeling was economic fear.  Fear of the unknown state of our economy.

So what can we do?  First of all don't panic.  Year's ago, my friend Sarah, told me of going on a river rafting trip with her family.  They ran into some rapids and her brother flew out of the raft.  Sarah started yelling.  "Everyone stay calm, nobody panic!!!!"  She said she was totally panicking, but somehow by telling others to stay calm, she was calmed."  What happened?  Her brother got back in the boat and they continued down the river.
Whenever I think of panicking, I think of Sarah and saying  "don't panic, everybody stay calm!"  It helps.

Beyond not panicking… what can we do?  What I know for sure is when we are happy and healthy our brains work better, we are better problem solvers, more creative and our immune systems stronger.  When our homes are calm, clean, tidy and thoughtfully created, we are happier and healthier.

So we have work to do.  Instead of panicking, we need to get to work.  Outside, spring is bursting at the seams.  Which means, no matter what you hear in the news, spring is still springing.  Spring is the season of renewal, fresh starts and explosions of joy.  It is also time to do a little spring cleaning.  Spring cleaning for our bodies, minds, homes, neighborhoods and businesses.  Spring cleaning is the intentional act of renewal, refreshing and rebooting so we can begin again.

Funny thing about cleaning. It makes us feel better. When our environments are happy, calm, easy, clean and well cared for, we naturally feel the same. A nourishing space, calms our nervous system.
So instead of panicking...it's time to roll up our sleeves, start cleaning out the clutter, the stagnate spaces of our homes and lives.  

From this space we can breathe.  We need to let our beautiful, resilient spirits and minds work at a high level of creativity and vision.

While we are at it, let's start picking up our neighborhoods and getting the trash off the streets. Clean up our yards and create spaces where we feel prosperous and happy.  When in doubt, don't panic and start cleaning.  You will be surprised how this old, simple act of shifting our spaces- refreshes our spirits and restores our confidence.

If you start feeling weary, shut off the TV, the social media accounts and your pop up reminders.  Open up the windows, clean house, get outside and start pulling weeds and cleaning out beds.  Grab a bag and go pick up trash in the woods, in your neighborhoods.  Go outside and hang out in spring.

Action- reduces fear.  Cleaning is an action of renewal.  Cleaning is like spring. No matter what we do as humans, spring will still surprises us with beauty and delight.  We are resilient, and creative beings..

   When we are happy...our immune systems are stronger, we are more resilient and creative...
                  Denise
                       Coach