Ready to rumble

After a brief break

Hello friends,

Weeks have passed since my last post. Six to be exact. I took a much-needed break and I hope you got to take one, too.

I didn’t neglect the newsletter during my sabbatical. In fact, I spent considerable time thinking about how to make it more interactive and engaging. (Should I add a podcast? Bring in guest writers? Tell me.)

I also thought about changing the name of my newsletter. Sift. Shift. Lift. is a bit clunky. I admit. And some of you have told me you have a hard time remembering it. (Is it “shift and lift” or “lift and shift?”)

But one day, while re-reading Rising Strong by Dr. Brené Brown, I came across this quote, which brilliantly sums up the passion and purpose behind Sift. Shift. Lift.

Let’s read that again. “We are born makers. We move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands.”

Brown, a well-known researcher and storyteller, has spent the past 20-odd years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. (She also has one of the most-watched TED Talks. Go ahead and watch it if you haven’t seen it yet. I will wait.)

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Sift.

Moving what we’re learning in our head to our heart through our hands.

Brown believes (as I do) that “sometimes we have to rumble with a story to find the truth.” These can be the stories we tell ourselves about our choices and our relationships, or they can be the stories we tell ourselves about the wicked problems that confront us. Like climate change, the opioid crisis, racism and anti-semitism.

When I talk about sifting through research and propaganda to get to the truth, I am asking you to rumble with story.

Want to learn how? Brown has fantastic tips and resources all about the rumble on her website, including this handy download you can stick on your fridge: Rumble language: 9 starters and questions we use to kickstart a rumble.

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Shift.

Moving what we’re learning in our head to our heart with our hands.

The music and movies, literature and art that I share in each post highlight the work of makers who have rumbled with story and created something new out of it. Something that may come closer to the truth than the unsifted facts. Something that may shift how you feel.

Have you watched the movie Don’t Look Up? Its characters engage in some serious rumbling (and even more avoidance) when they learn the planet is about to be wiped out by an asteroid. It is a powerful parody that explores what happens when “we move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands”—and when we don’t.

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Lift.

Moving what we’re learning in our head to our heart through our hands.

Once we understand what is at stake, we may feel inspired to take action. This is why I lift up people and organizations doing what they can to be the change they want to see in the world. Organizations that you can support if you are looking for something to do with those hands. (Besides raising your fists or praying for things to change, although you can do that, too. I do.)

Let me know if there is a group you’d like me to promote in a future post.

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What’s next?

I am going to keep the name Sift. Shift. Lift. for now. At least until I come up with something better. (If you have any suggestions, send them my way.)

Starting Thursday, I will be posting twice a week, just like before. And, watch for a glossy roundup of posts, interviews, and updates from 2021 in the coming days. (I may even publish a crossword.)

In the meantime, keep rumbling,

Shelley

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