where do you find your inspiration?

Well, I had a horrible head cold and you can tell because I took two sad little photos of our 10 mile walk. We did an out & back walk from the Transit Cafe to Andronico's and back. I tried experimenting with having one break - with only bathrooms marked on the route map. Not sure this will work on our longer walks, but it seemed OK for this 10 mile day.

Up and out through the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio, which is a really lovely peaceful place.

On our way back we found a *new* set of stairs to tackle up to Stow Lake. STEEP ones at that.

Right after our walk, we headed to the Landmark for our glassybaby fundraising party!

Ready for the shoppers to come pick out their new glassybaby!

My new acquisitions: taxi, seattle sunset, fortitude, gingerbread, victory, hudson and gratitude.

Many thanks to glassybaby and Hillary for this wonderful day! Even if you were unable to make the party you can still shop - through July 28th, enter the promo code “impact” during checkout and 10% from your online glassybaby purchase will benefit the Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk.


On Sunday, I met the group and handed off maps because I realized my head cold was pretty bad and walking 10 miles was not a good idea. Trina reported that they had a terrific walk! 

THIS WEEK'S MAP QUOTES

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being. Hafiz

So many people glorify and romanticize “busy”. I do not. I value purpose. I believe in resting in reason and moving in passion. If you’re always busy/moving, you will miss important details. I like the mountain. Still, but when it moves lands shift and earth quakes. Joseph Cook

Our next step, our next creative idea, lies somewhere in the frontier of our lives, and as we take steps, we see that the path appears, awaiting our faithful steps. And when we look back, we see that what we thought was the horizon of our potential is now only the background. Angella Nazarian

Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto. Dale Carnegie

WEEKLY INSPIRATION

Where do you find your inspiration?  I find mine here: 

In all honesty, I was dreading getting up to walk this morning - I had a head cold, it was a cold & foggy  and staying bed sounded pretty terrific. That all vanished within the first mile of the walk... the cold, fresh air and beauty of the quiet morning re-set my whole outlook. I was so happy to be out walking. Gratitude for the day and opportunity to be out exploring my favorite city. It is here I find my inspiration: on the road in the company of other travelers or in the company of silence. I think deep thoughts, and no so deep thoughts. I see amazing things and share a lot of wonderful conversation & laughter with some terrific people.

Where do you go to fill your well of inspiration when you are overtired, spent, spread too thin, resentful, or over-scheduled ? Here are 50 Ways to Find Inspiration... let's try a few!

Find Inspiration in Nature

1. Go for a walk in nature, practice mindfulness, and lose track of time for a while.

2. Meditate or practice yoga in a nearby park.

3. Watch children playing at the park then make a point to carry their spirit with you throughout the day.

4. Watch your cat or dog in nature and try to emulate your pet’s mindfulness and playfulness.

5. Take a camera outside and photograph everything that looks beautiful to you.

6. Practice deep breathing while listening to nature sounds.

7. Draw or paint a scene outside your window.

8. Watch Planet Earth DVDs to experience beauty of the oceans, forests, jungles, Great Plains, and caves.

9. Get lost in nature photos online.

10. Spend some time contemplating nature-based art.

Find Inspiration on the Web

11. Watch a TED video to learn about inspiring ideas.

12. Search for tweets with the hashtag #inspiration using the Twitter search functionality.

13. Post an inspiring video, like Validation or Are You Going to Finish Strong? Then be an active part of the conversation in the comments.

14. Read blogs written by people who have overcome adversity.

15. Join a forum of people who can relate to your challenges.

16. Browse through inspirational quotes on Tiny Buddha.

17. Share yourself vulnerably and authentically in a blog post—give inspiration to receive it.

18. Learn about ways to change the world through social media.

19. Watch 40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes.

20. Use My Web Inspiration to collaborate with others and think visually.

Find Inspiration in Possibilities

21. Try something you’ve always assumed you can’t do but secretly want to try.

22. Teach someone to do something and tap into your potential as a leader.

23. Immerse yourself in learning something new and allow yourself to forget about the limitations of time.

24. Write a bucket list of all the things you’d like to do in your lifetime.

25. Create a vision board with pictures of all of those things..

26. Brainstorm for ideas for a new project.

27. Think about the challenges you face, and identify possibly solutions.

28. Submit your resume for a dream job instead of assuming you can’t get it.

29. Attend a conference or retreat to connect with likeminded people. (The Wisdom 2.0 Conferencerecently inspired me!)

30. Read 50 Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities and pick one to try today.

Find Inspiration in People

31. Ask someone you love what they consider to be the most important thing they’ve ever learned.

32. Ask everyone you see today what they’re grateful for.

33. Ask someone to tell you about the thing they love the most in life, and watch how they light up sharing their passion.

34. Ask your parents to tell you what you were like as a child, and remember what mattered to you then.

35. Notice what matters to someone and focus solely on how they experience it.

36. Join an organization of people making a positive difference in the world.

37. Read an autobiography by someone who has marched to the beat of their own drummer.

38. Listen to music that moves you and think about what the songwriter felt when s/he wrote it.

39. Make a list of all the ways your friends and family members are your heroes. Odds are there’s a lot of inspiration around you already.

40. Spend time with children and see the world through their eyes.

Find Inspiration in Yourself

41. Disconnect for a while and write in a journal.

42. Make today the day you embrace a new healthy habit that can change your life for the better.

43. Give yourself a pressure-free day with nothing to do except the things you enjoy.

44. Try something new and revel in the sensation of stretching beyond your comfort zone.

45. Express yourself creatively in a way you never have before—by sculpting, for example—and see what comes in your mind and heart.

46. Enjoy something you created in the past—a blog post, a video, a drawing, or a project.

47. Sing in the shower. Put your heart into and release your feelings through music.

48. Recognize in yourself the strengths you see in other people.

49. Make a conscious decision to let go of something that doesn’t serve you.

50. Reflect on everything you’ve learned and accomplished and how you’ve made a positive difference in the world.

panoramic city

Our 12 mile walk on Saturday was on a HOT and SUNNY day - a rare combo for San Francisco. We did not even need our jackets as we departed, which does not happen very often. Normally we need jackets the whole walk - we take them off and on throughout the walks as we go through the many micro-climates in the city. This walk is one of everyone's favorites because we head over to one of those amazing secret wonders in our fine city.

Resting, rehydrating and refueling at Andronico's.

And then on toward to Moraga Mosaic Stairs! A hidden gem in the Sunset.

Continuing UP the stairs to Grand View Park.

We were rewarded at the top with the most spectacular views of the city - almost 360 degrees.

Trying the panoramic setting on my new camera on my new phone.

And, back down we go!

Oh, anyone for a snack?

And just like that, we quickly returned back to our home base, the Warming Hut. 

Check out those blue skies! What a treat.

THIS WEEK'S MAP QUOTES

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. Ralph Waldo Emerson


You can forget that other people carry pieces of your own story around in their heads. I’ve always thought - put together all those random pieces from everyone who’s ever known you, from your parents to the guy who once sat next to you on a bus, and you’d probably see a fuller version of your life than you even did while living it. Deb Caletti, Stay

UPCOMING TRAINING WALKS

Please RSVP here: http://groupspaces.com/InOurLifetime/calendar/

Saturday 7/13: 10 miles - 7:00 am

Sunday 7/14: 10 miles - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/20: 12 mile trail walk - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/27: 12 miles - 7:00am

Sunday 7/28: 12 miles - 7:00am

that's how the light gets in

Well, we had a really terrific 10 mile walk on Saturday and I would share photos of this spectacular walk.... except the camera in my new phone took out of focus photos!

It was the most beautiful day... sunny with a light cool breeze. The conversation was easy, and the miles just flew by! It is days like this this that I pinch myself that I get to live in San Francisco.

We departed walking along Mason St. taking in the new Mark di Suervo sculpture installation in the grass at Crissy Field (still not sure if I like them, although they are stunning in the early morning light.)

Then, we headed up on of my favorite trails, the Ecology Trail. It is somewhat hidden and is a great way to cut up through the Presidio now that some of the roads are closed due to the construction.

At the Presidio Golf Clubhouse we bumped into Kathy (pronounced Kay-ta), an 3 Day hottie from year's past! She walked with us for about half of the route - it was great to see an old friend!

Sandy, Judy, Dick & Trina headed home to the Warming Hut!

It is walks like this that I am so grateful for this city, the many hidden trails and amazing vistas. I just love living by the ocean.

I did, however, try my mapping app while we were waking to see if it drained the battery and it worked! Take a look at where we walked and those stats.... I think we earned a burger AND fries with this route.

THIS WEEK'S MAP QUOTES

So many people glorify and romanticize "busy." I do not. I value purpose. I believe in resting in reason and moving in passion. If you are always busy/moving, you will miss important details. I like the mountain. Still, but when it moves, lands shift and earth quakes. Joseph Cook

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. Jack Kornfield

WEEKLY INSPIRATION

Judy showed me this awesome photo she took in her neighborhood:

ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in

She later found out they are lyrics to the Leonard Cohen song, Anthem.

The idea that where we think we are broken is actually the place where the light, healing, understanding, compassion and love can flow IN. Wow - what a light bulb moment. I love the idea that we are all broken in places and are still 100% perfectly beautiful and great just the way we are. We are all broken in places, right? It is like the Japanese aesthetic wabi sabi: beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, incomplete, or perhaps, even "broken."  

UPCOMING TRAINING WALKS

Please RSVP here: http://groupspaces.com/InOurLifetime/calendar/

Saturday 6/29: 12 miles - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/13: 10 miles - 7:00 am

Sunday 7/14: 10 miles - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/20: 12 mile trail walk - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/27: 12 miles - 7:00am

Sunday 7/28: 12 miles - 7:00am

ordinary people doing the extraordinary

On Saturday a group of 21 bright, shining people met for the first training walk of 2013! It is always so happy to see friendly faces and reconnect after the winter non-walking months. Happy to be up, out and ready to hit the pavement. 2 new walkers and 2 husbands joined in the F.U.N!

We started our walk by heading up toward the Golden Gate Bridge and onto the Coastal Trail. One section of the trail has a "CLOSED" sign which we pretended not to see which resulted in a slight detour when we arrived at the parking lot and were fenced in!! 

Once we re-routed around the closed section of trail (which had a massive wash out over the winter) we found our way back to the Batteries to Bluffs Trail, one of my favorite hidden gems in San Francisco.

Meandering through the Presidio is always so great! You never know what you will see through the eucalyptus trees. This is the Wood Line sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy which follows near by the Lover's Lane pathway. When it was installed a year or so ago the logs were dark. Now after a winter they are silver grey and fade into the forest. You can walk down along the line which we will have to do at some point this year because it is somewhat meditative to follow the wavy line.

We headed out of the Presidio and down to the Palace of Fine Arts which is looking really lovely! 

And, as we were heading back Crissy Field we found the resident swan family. (Trivia of the day: a baby swan is a Cygnet!) It was a really amazing first walk of the season! Brush the cobwebs out of the brain, take in the cool, fresh ocean air and make connections with our fellow walkers, new and returning.

THIS WEEK'S MAP QUOTES 

Just because the road ahead is long, is no reason to slow down. Just because there is much work to be done, is no reason to get discouraged. It is a reason to get started, to grow, to find new ways, to reach within yourself and discover strength, commitment, and determination. The road ahead is long and difficult, but it’s filled with opportunity. Start what needs starting. Finish what needs finishing. Get on the road. Stay on the road. Don’t give up. Ralph Marston

You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings. Elizabeth Gilbert

WEEKLY INSPIRATION: EVERYDAY HEROES

I like to use this definition of hero: an ordinary person doing something extraordinary. By actual definition, heroes are individuals who consistently and continually sacrifice their own needs in the interest of others. Yes, the people participating in the Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk are Everyday Heroes. 

Everyday Heroes features extraordinary portraits by award-winning photographer, Paul Mobley, which are accompanied by first-person narratives written by author, Katrina Fried. This collaboration provides readers with a unique view into the journeys of these heroes and their causes. These are the stories of regular people who've made an exceptional impact on those in need, often at great personal or financial sacrifice.

UPCOMING TRAINING WALKS

RSVP here: http://groupspaces.com/InOurLifetime/calendar/ 

Saturday 6/22: 10 Miles - 7:30 am

Saturday 6/29: 12 Miles - 7:00 am

Saturday 7/13: 10 Miles - 7:30 am

Sunday 7/14: 10 Miles - 7:30 am

spontaneous random act of generosity

Many people have asked and here it is! This is the video of my speech from last October's Fall Fashion Frenzy event benefiting Friend to Friend.

After the speeches there was a live auction for a 7 night stay at a luxury villa in Kona, HI.  The woman who won the 7 night Kona Luxury Villa for $4,500 asked to speak, and she said, "I want to donate this to the woman who just spoke." Well there were many AMAZING women a speakers in the room. It took a number of "Mississippi's" for all of us sitting at the table to realize that this amazing, generous woman was referring to me! I burst into tears. It was a totally surreal moment. (The trip was actually bought and then donated by two friends I learned later.)

To have a total stranger be so generous - a spontaneous random act of generosity - is ASTOUNDING. To have a stranger see the work we are doing and think it is worth acknowledging and rewarding is humbling. For reals. H.u.m.b.l.i.n.g. Major goosebumps moment.

The nine people at the luncheon representing the Immediate Impact Walk took the trip to Kona the first week of June. It was such an honor to be asked to speak, to share the story of our walk and to be the recipient of such generosity. A remarkable afternoon and a remarkable once in a lifetime trip! 

The luncheon and fashion shows raised $48,000 – 100% of which will be used to provide cancer products such as wigs, mastectomy prostheses and bras, to low-income women and adolescent girls.

Our table of walkers representing the Immediate Impact Walk.

Marcia getting dolled up for her walk in the fashion show!

During the speech trying not to bee too nervous! 

People were eating so making a connection was pretty tricky through the clink of silverware.

Massive hugs to the women who donated the trip!

Marcia, burning up the runway!

kick it off!

On Saturday, May 11th we held a great informal Meet & Greet/Event Kick-off Party at the Press Club! It was an opportunity for participants, friends and beneficiaries to get to know one another a little better while having a snack and a glass of wine. The Press Club sent us a check for $138.91 which was 10% of our groups tab which we will apply to our general fund to offset event expenses… hurrah! What a lovely afternoon to get us in the spirit for our 2013. Many thanks to Tina Larson for her help in securing the location, and to Trina & John for their A/V troubleshooting help setting up the slideshow. 

be, do, accept and receive

I posted a note a few weeks on Facebook that we started a Compassion Fund for a young woman with metastatic breast cancer. This is Renee. She was 32.  If you find her page on Facebook, she was beloved by so many people. The notes to Renee and family are heartbreaking and full of love, yet hopeful for a perfect stillness in the space of this loss. I never got to meet her but I am forever changed because our lives crossed in a peripheral way.

There was the loss of another bright light last week as well. A member of the Komen 3 Day for the Cure/Event 360 family, Bridget Spence died after 9 years of living with stage IV breast cancer. She was 29.

Then, there is Jennifer, the sister of a very special friend. She died last February after living 10 years with metastases of breast cancer to her liver, lungs, bone and brain. She was 43. 

There is a sadness I hold for the loss of these women, and the loss of a dear family friend to prostate cancer last year, that is so palpable I taste it in the back of my throat, making it hard to swallow.

So many beloved people gone, way too soon.

The loss of these beautiful young women, and the other 109 people who will die from breast cancer today, is a loss for us all. We ALL lose out. Whatever contributions they would have made in their lifetimes are lost. What promise would the world have held for them? Those who loved them will never get to find out and that is tragic.

There are tears today, but more than the tears I feel a swelling of deep frustration at the status quo within the breast cancer industry. I hope to personally light the flame in others with a new resolve  and full-force dedication to helping all people who are living with breast cancer gain access to quality care and services.

These women’s short lives deserve our best efforts to move into a new era of cancer prevention, strict regulations on cancer-causing toxins, and funding research which would make a cancer diagnosis more survivable. We can eradicate cancer as a life threatening disease, I really believe it.

Let’s make a commitment today be present and engaged in the moment (put down your cell phone!), tell the people we love that we love them, be kind, be generous, laugh every day, and let’s give of ourselves expecting nothing in return – let’s live this life fully and zestfully. This is the best way I know to honor the loss of these beloved people, and countless others.

Note from Renee’s Sister:

On Thursday, April 11th 2013, at 3:30 a.m., Renee Heidtman, my best friend and beautiful sister left this world for another. At 32 years old, she accomplished so much. She was a teacher, a lover, a model and a pillar of strength for others. In her short life, she has touched and loved so many around her. She died in the presence of those who loved her. Memorials will be planned for both Michigan and San Francisco. Invitations will be sent for late May. May peace be with all of you during this difficult time. Renee taught me to be, do, accept and receive love. So be, do, accept and receive, and you will carry her close in your heart.

The funds we collected for the Compassion Fund, almost $5,000 in 24 hours, will be put to use by the family. 

how do you like them apples?

Last night a small group of Immediate Impact walk participants dropped in for the "Fishbowl Frenzy/Party with a Purpose" benefiting Friend to Friend. They had raffle prizes galore and a $10 donation at the door got you $5 beer and wine for the night. Wooohooo!

While we were there we had the honor of presenting our grant check of $30,000 from the 2013 Immediate Impact Walk to Helene Lynch, long time volunteer at the boutique. It is because of Helen’s volunteer work at the boutique that I learned of Friend to Friend - it felt so perfect to hand her the check. Again, a tremendous night which reinforces one of our core principles: giving feels good!

Helen's reaction was priceless! 

representing at the marin half marathon

This past Saturday a group of us were among the 1,000 people who participated in the Marin Half Marathon (we walked the 10K distance.) at McNear's Beach in San Rafael. The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund is the beneficiary of this race and the day's total donations were $10,000! Oh, McNear's Beach is a really pretty place if you are looking for a day get away in the Bay Area: Picnic tables, a pool, beach access, a clubhouse.

Thankfully the weather was pretty cool and dry (rain was predicted) for a pretty 10K route along the marsh and then bay near China Camp. The 1/2 marathon runners are treated to a pretty steep uphill trail run on the last few miles of their route. Our time was pretty slow (we were the last people to finish the 10K – ha!, and I think we were the only people walking the whole thing) but we dawdled a little at the end listening to the bag pipers, taking photos and chatting with people.

Rambling to the Finish Line! 

Safety Monitor Juliana, from the BCEF

Team: In Our Lifetime representing!

After the race, we drove over to Ross for a celebratory breakfast 

at the always packed and great Half Day Cafe. Yumm!