There are so many powerful, thought-provoking questions being asked or proactive steps being shared during this challenging time and I am so grateful to all involved in generating these resources. And yet amidst the deluge of information, it can feel like trying to catch and hold a snowflake to really absorb their weight and do the creative thinking that the answer requires.

Instead, my mind has been constantly shifting and collecting snippets like a stack of paint chips. My thinking is non-linear. And while pivoting our business models to respond to Covid19 is what many of us are having to do, I find myself unable yet. And maybe you are struggling with this too. For many of us, our businesses are extensions of ourselves and we are deeply resistant to taking a knife to our own appendage. And so, these potentially transformational questions that people are posing end up getting piled onto that already heavily-stacked shelf for the rhetorical (bookmark them though in your journal).

And so my own first step is to return daily to the cycle that is at the heart of my life and work as a touchstone, one that unearthed itself when I went through a personal health crisis 11 years ago. At that time, I had to pull out of work for what felt like forever (3.5 months) and rehabilitate my body and mind to then be able to reengage wholeheartedly. And it feels good today to look back and see all that has been created since that hard time of being "out of the market" for those 14 weeks. Because upon reflection, what that time incubated was a whole new belief system that now upholds my client work and has become the deepening root of my livelihood.

It is this:

I believe that there is a natural underlying cycle underpinning our lives and our ventures:

The Cycle of Restoration>Reflection>Creativity>Connection

(the other day I began calling it R2C2 for short :))

And I believe that in any given moment, by taking a break and tuning in, we can discover which phase of the cycle we are in and whether it is serving us to stay there and discover more or whether it is time to start shifting ourselves to the next one.

Take Monday as a case in point.

Out of the gate, I had every intention of working my way through this process starting with yoga in the morning to restore, then reflecting on what was happening with each of my clients through writing, then creating through mixed media based on what had transpired in the writing, and then connecting with a few clients and loved ones through calls and video chats. However, the craziness of a Covid-19 Monday swept in quickly and I bypassed the first three phases and dove hard and fast into Over Connection. And I got spun. I talked to too many people, received too much information, and tried desperately to make connections between what was happening all around me. Instead of connecting information that I had taken the time to really reflect on and assess through my own unique vantage point, I was caught up in the whirl of all that was being shared and I was not able to contribute to the collective conversation from an authentic place of self & substance.

I began to receive texts from some who know me well that said "Hey, Can you go for a walk? I fear you are taking this on too much" and "I hope you are taking care of yourself". And I realized that I had trapped myself in a perpetual state of trying to connect and that exactly the opposite was happening. I was becoming more and more fragmented. And it was oddly challenging to break that forcefield, for maybe I had generated some sort of false sense of security inside of all the pinging.

But I did it, crossed the threshold of that magnetic field, and went to the woods.

I scrambled up rocks, grabbed onto tree limbs, and touched moss, tuned into emerging spring flowers, and once again my inner Avatar woman took over. Knots started breaking up in my mind. I could breathe deeply again. And then when thoughts started coming back in (the next phase of reflection started inherently calling me) they had a different texture to them. They weren't stopping at the surface layer of my mind poised to be expedited elsewhere, like shifting scattered stacks of paper, but rather they were able to sink in as the by-product of the process of restoration.

In one very literal sense, when restoring we are cleaning out "the store" and then restocking the shelves with the most nourishing items, once we have reflected on what they are. And it is with THESE items that we then begin feeling the call of creativity. We become equipped to create from our own unique vantage point. For me, it is here, now, through writing. For someone else, creativity is harnessed through drafting a new plan of protocol, or a big pot of gumbo. In my experience, these creations land, or taste, all the better when the creator has allowed themselves to go through the precursor processes of restoration and reflection.

And then, once it is created, whatever "it" is, we will want to connect it out into the world. Share our plan with our team. Ladle a bowl for a loved one. And inevitably, after a healthy dose (or overdose) of connection, we will then get tired and our body, mind, and heart will call us all back into restoration and so the cycle begins again.

Utilizing this process with entrepreneurs and organizational leaders through coaching and retreats is my favorite element of my work as it has been fascinating to discover what unkinks within them simply by practicing this self-awareness of where they are. And then they can determine whether it is serving them and their team well to deepen and glean more from that phase or whether it is time to shift on to the next.

So, I would love to challenge you to witness yourself as you go through your day. It starts by tuning in and assessing where you are right now in relation to the four phases of this cycle.

Remember: Restoration, Reflection, Creativity, Connection

Are you comfortable there? Is there more work to do in that phase or would it better serve you to start moving to the next? And I invite you to share your thoughts and your own internal experience during this time.

My greatest wish in all the world today in relation to these concepts is that all of our CoVid-19 front line responders will receive the restoration they so wholeheartedly need. How can we offer this for these people in micro-ways?

Also, for a little spirit-soothing eye candy, the images in this post are from the most restorative place I have experienced: Iona, Scotland. This is a place where people from all over the world come to release the troubles of their hearts, return to their truest self, and breathe that highly potent Scottish wind. (That is the elixir our lungs all need right now). I hope to return here one day in the not too distant future and deepen into each phase of this cycle repeatedly. Until that can happen, let’s use a couple of images to travel there virtually with me. I know I need a mental escape.

With mad love, once again, (my only true commodity in this time)

Annie

Cross the threshold to the outside repeatedly in your day.

Here’s to the journey of choosing your path in pursuit of verdant landscapes.

My photograph from Iona that I feel integrates all four phases of the cycle.

A Cycle to Help Sustain Us