Shift - A Game About Love, Fear and Life

Shift is in the stores. Shift has gotten press. We are getting orders on our website. The word is getting out. The holidays are gearing up. I took a bath last night. I’m working at 6:30 am on Sunday, but I know that it is worth it. I’m stressed, I’m happy; I’m getting stuff done while the rest of the house is asleep. No matter what the day brings, I will enjoy it because I can.

Dear All,
Just wanted you to know that Shift games will be available to play and purchase at the Boulder Co-op on Pearl Street in Boulder on Tuesday, December 13th on Pearl Street in Boulder at 7:00 pm. They will make great quality gifts that keep on giving. We have also scheduled a Shift play night at the Boulder Co-op on Tuesday, January 10th also at 7:00 pm. This is a great way to try the game before you buy as well as come play with family and friends. Come and share your experiences with Shift and meet the inventor of Shift, Nicole Casanova, and her team.

Keep checking the Community Page for more play dates!

I spent some of my better years working at summer camp in the middle-of-no-where Iowa.

One summer in particular, I, along with my good friend and "village partner" Greg, had taken our cabins to walmart to pass out suckers and make people smile, all along teaching a lesson in between.  The night was getting late and Greg and I ran to pass out the last couple of suckers, when we came upon the cutest elderly couple.  Greg handed him a sucker with the biggest grin you can only imagine and said, "Have a great day, Sir!!"  He stopped and looked at us and said, "You know, some days are good, but some days are better…" 

That message has stayed with me ever since.

Later that summer I was sitting with another cabin, a whole new group of impressionable girls and one assistant counselor to help me out.  I was telling them the story thinking nothing would come of it, until once again - I recieved a letter that made me realize how important our words are.

My assistant counselor who had listened to my story wrote to tell me she was working and having a rough day, feeling like the world was against her, when she helped a man out with his groceries and, out of habit, she told him to have a good day.  He turned to her and said, "Some days are good, but some days are better."

She knew after that moment she never would have to have a bad day again.

______________________________________________________________ I’m now begining to realize how easy it is to have a pity party for myself, how easy it is to let the bad overshadow the good, and in the end, how easy it is to allow bad days to happen.

And then it comes back to the game.  Our thoughts create our reality.  Our attitude can determine our path.    We are in charge.  We are at choice. 

So I ask you, who ever asked for a bad day? 

I say:  celebrate the little victories,  find joy in the all things,  choose words with care, and make the choice…

Never have a bad day again. 

10 TENETS OF WHOLE LIVING

• Happiness is a choice. You can make that choice today and every day.
• Good health isn’t a gift; it’s a habit you can cultivate.
• Stay connected to the natural world. It will feed your soul.
• Think more about what you should eat more than what you shouldn’t.
• Nurture your spirit. It’s the source of your strength.
• A healthy, fit body is not enough—true fitness engages the spirit.
• Laugh at yourself. You’re funny.
• Believe in yourself. Your intuition is rarely wrong.
• It’s never too late to take the first step toward your aspirations.
• What you pay attention to will thrive.

From the About Us page of whole living: body + soul 

Man oh man I’ve been wanting to write for a month and just haven’t made the time. I’ve had many topics to write about and have been tired and frustrated and then calm and peaceful and yet I wasn’t ready to write. I’m more than a few days into my vacation now and am pleasantly out of my work routine and into my new vacation one. In the last week I’ve gone snowboarding, run the rim trail at the Grand Canyon and I’ve woken up in the Arizona desert. I spent the day at the spa in Phoenix and am on my way down to Mexico for a bit of sun and seafood.

My camping routine is a bit different than my resort routine and I can certainly say today that I’m definitely cleaner than I was a few days ago. Each has its benefits and I’m not sure which I prefer. We camped in spots that were completely off the beaten track and there’s something really nice about cooking dinner under the stars and waking up to see the sunrise. Plus, yoga in the desert just can’t be beat. Resort life ain’t ( I like to use that word because I know I’m not supposed to) bad either. Not only do we have a sweet deal on our room, even our food is discounted. I can check email and listen to cds when I’m not at the pool. It’s just a little more manicured and slightly less authentic and the combination of outdoor and indoor living is nice. However, I’m ready to be unreachable again and ready to crawl my way into the down comforts of the back of our cab. 3 dogs, the right partner, some good food, a good book and a killer camping spot- that’s all I need. Life has been very very good.

I’d talk about all that’s going on with Shift, our successes and all that jazz, and yet that doesn’t seem to be my prupose today. I’ve been wanting to write a blog about staying balanced in a start-up for the last month. It feels nice to be on the balancing side and so I’d rather discuss how I’m balancing out. I had a massage. The second this year. The last one (that I wrote about) was less than effective because I ran through my todo list the whole time. This time, I had 2 days to myself and spent one at the spa. I almost fell asleep in my massage and made use of the sauna and pool and. . . I read a girly magazine!!!!!! Not that kind, I mean the Glamour/ Cosmo kind. The kind with fashion trends and sex tips. I went on walks with the dogs and I’m solidly into a book I can’t put down (whehoo!).

My goal for this vacation (how type A is that?) was to complete a book because I rarely find the time to finish a book. I’m reading A Million Little Pieces and like the rest of America am totally into it. Although my life (or addictions) never neared his intensity, I have some understanding of what he calls the Fury- his rage that he couldn’t qwell.  Mine was a much tamer form of just not good enough which constantly showed up as not enough. It didn’t matter if it was 6 am, I wanted to find the next party. It didn’t matter if I had my 10th drink (or whatever else), I wanted another. There was a constant need to fill myself with something- other people, entertainment, food, men, drink, drugs, vacations, you name it.  I’m bringing this up because the book is bringing me back a bit and what I think is best about the book is seeing how he seeks what resonates with him.  He’s in rehab and they want him to follow the 12step program and that just isn’t his thing.  What’s great is that he sees that there really can be another way.  He’s opening (I’m at page 250 or so) to something - yet he’s clear he needs to hear it in the form that works for him.  I was a bit like that. Religion didn’t work for me because I really wasn’t into the idea of wrong or right, sin judgment, damnation, repentance and all that other stuff. 

Anyway, I’ve been in a little vacation bubble, having fun and at the same time reading this potentially heavy book and reliving some memories I’d rather forget.  Guess my black-outs were only so effective. Yet, what’s interesting is that I’ve been reliving my process.. what it took for me to get here.  When I was making my shifts, it was a constant process and the only way it worked was to keep working my mind like a muscle.  If I really look at that transformation, I’d say it took years and years and I’m still working on it.  I moved forward and I fell. Sometimes I fell really hard. However, whatever my behaviors were, I now had this understanding of why I was doing what I did which made it a little harder to ignore and a little clearer to see. I’ve read that our minds, like a rubber band, can not return to the same form once it’s been streched.  It took years and years of stretching, of working the muscle (the happy muscle) and learning to fill all that need with me.  There was a time when I was always not good enough and there was never enough and now I think I’m just better at seeing things a little bit differently.  I’m also a tad better at wanting someone else to fill me.

Now, I take a break from my vacation with my partner to have a day or so for me. I fill myself. I may get a massage or do yoga or go for a walk. I also bake in the sun (my last true addiction that I really have no intention of giving up)  or smoke a cigarette (can you believe it?) because I want to and yet my feeling about it now is different. If I bust out a cigarette once a month as a reward, then that’s what it is.  I’m filling myself every day with gratitude and thankfulness for the people I get to meet and the life I get to enjoy.  I no longer feel like I need to constantly fill myself with something other than me.  I think it’s because I’m getting it now- I know I’m loved and I don’t need a drink or a man or a VIP lounge to make me feel it. I’m doing it for myself and everything else is falling into place.

I feel lucky.  Manana nosotros vamos a Mexico y la playa. Fantastico!