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The passion, the vulnerability, the hurt and longing… the dreams, hope, energy and life inside the young men and women I’ve been honored to work and workshop with… Often, it helps to speak with some reference, energetic or otherwise, to people’s position or status, and I do so if it seems necessary to help them answer these questions and to be more present and comfortable in our work together. That said, at its core, my work is all about supporting people as they let go of fear, ego, and pride, so that they can find and embody their own power, peace, and passion. It’s therefore interesting that the most impactful book I’ve consumed this year is also my first ever audio book:

Doesn’t feel like I have a lot of time to blog these days, but I’ve had to put “pen to paper” as I’m feeling tremendous waves of gratitude. They were in their mid 30’s and mid 40’s. He makes me laugh, at times cry in frustration and joy, keeps me happily exhausted, forces creativity out of me like I never knew existed, and his little hands are growing too fast for my mama heart. Grateful, so grateful for our son.

It didn’t hurt that this particular event included talks with Pulitzer Prize winning author (and poet/activist) Alice Walker and acclaimed film director Mira Nair, two breathing legends of the women variety. This is one of many reasons I gravitate toward excellent film making and believe it is a vital educational tool to create dialogue about social issues, culture, and the human experience. I couldn’t quite figure out why this film was directed by Mira Nair however the conversation after the film promptly filled me in. Gareth led the post film conversation with Alice and Mira.

That was a period of my life where I was mono-focused on certain types of professional outcomes, and it didn’t occur to me that getting some international experience—seeing the world from new angles in that way—would turn out to be, in some ways, even more valuable to me than all the work-related skills and experience I was picking up and refining. I don’t think it’s productive to regret, but I do think I would have grown much faster as a person had I gotten out of the country, seen more things, and met more people, earlier in my life. I knew a bit more about the broad history of the country this time around, and everything I knew about the place made me suspect it would be a wildly different experience from my other homes, up to that point. There are a lot of reasons to talk, to write, to produce a podcast, but if you don’t actually care about what you’re putting out there, what you’re communicating, the folks on the other end of your message can often tell, and will rightfully turn down the volume, change the channel, unfollow or unsubscribe.