Get Real with Lisa

Today I am talking about how there is a change of seasons coming here in the Pacific Northwest and how it reminds me of the change of seasons in life. Change can be hard. Change can be weird. But it can also be really good for us, and necessary for growth. Today, I will show you how the change of seasons can bring on a different point of view. It can help us to look forward while also appreciating...

Today I am telling you a theory I have about marriage (or a long-term committed relationship). I look around and see all the folks who have made it through hard times and stuck it out and they are still going strong. I know the people who got married when I did have had plenty of struggles. Everyone does, right? But, for some reason, they have made it to the other side. Now they are enjoying the g...

What is cathartic to you? Do you know? I bet you knew at one time and maybe have forgotten. For my friend, who I talk about in the episode, it's working with and riding horses. (Who doesn't love the smell of a horse?) For her husband, it's working (playing) in the dirt. For me it's playing piano, writing, decorating or doing something else creative. The point is, we are all wired d...

Has there ever been a time when you were in the wrong and you put blinders on and didn't talk to, listed to or ask anyone who would hold you accountable, for their advice? I've been there, and I remember it well. We don't want to hear the right advice when we are in the wrong. We stay around people who won't hold our feet to the fire and hold us accountable. But how will we ever le...

Music is such a big part of life. At least it's a big part, a huge part, of mine. I can "waste" an entire evening listening to music and dancing around my house, on the street, in a bar, wherever! I LOVE music! From the time I was young, I felt music very deeply. It started with a John Denver song, maybe Elton John, and went on from there. I played piano by ear and loved listening to...

I had the privilege of going to a class reunion last weekend and had an absolute blast! To be fair, I always have a blast. But this is my first time going by myself. I knew some parts of it would be hard, but I said, "sign me up!" There are so many times we might miss connecting with others because we aren't willing to put ourselves out there and be brave and just GO! I signed up and...

I had an emotional week. I went to two weddings and watched a sad movie, all of which made me cry. A LOT! But it was good for me to feel those emotions. It's good for us to allow ourselves to feel and experience life's ups and downs and not shove those feelings down and act as if they don't exist. Having feelings and emotions makes us human. Showing them makes us vulnerable. So, allowi...

Today I am reading one of my favorite books to you. It's called, "Finding Muchness", written by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Charles Santoso. It is a book about adding more life to your life. It is a book about being brave, having fun, showing love, being kind and so much(ness) more. I love it so much, I wanted to read it to you in hopes you will find the muchness inside of you that m...

It's my son's 20th birthday! Woohoo! Happy birthday, Layne! So... I tossed out some episode ideas and let him choose. Of course, he chose one I thought was pretty basic (or lazy) but when he elaborated, it became less so. The idea he picked was, "Say what you mean, mean what you say." When I asked him to elaborate, he said, "In relationships and friendships, if you don't...

Stop saying, "I am old"! So many of you are out there saying you are old. Stop it! Old is a frame of mind. It isn't a truth. That word means different things to different people but... overall, it has a negative connotation. You will not hear me saying I am old. To me it means, "I am done" (done living, learning, growing, adventuring... just done). Who wants that? Not me!!...

The first full episode of "Get Real with Lisa" aired on June 1, 2022! So today, I thought I would rapid-fire through some of the most listened to episodes over the past year. My sincere thanks and gratitude for all you listeners out there. Here's to another year of learning about life together!

You know what next week is? I do! It's the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the GET REAL WITH LISA PODCAST! (Insert noise makers here) This is a minisode to get you geared up for the anniversary episode next week where I will rapid-fire through all the episodes I've done over the past year. It's gonna be a good time of reflection and also looking forward to the next year!

Today's episode is a little off the beaten path. I recently had a moment of reflection and I realized I have been giving you all this good advice and not following it myself. I realized, for one thing, I have still been living in the past. I have been holding mistakes over my own head. I have not been forgiving myself... STILL! Well now is the time. Today is the day to start moving forward. Th...

Today I wanted to talk to you about why we keep holding on to all this STUFF! Is it because we feel guilt if we decide to get rid of it? Is it the voice of our parents in our heads telling us, "This is a family heirloom"? We attach meaning to the stuff. In my case, I have carted around a whole set of fine china from house to house and haven't used it in over a decade. How silly is th...

You know when you're having a bad day and suddenly, you find yourself taking it out on other people? That happened to me today. I was in my own world (my tiny yard), mowing the grass, spraying the weeds, when suddenly, there was a neighbor walking her dog by my house. My dog, not being the nicest creature, tried to bite her dog. Mind you, I was unaware of this since I had earbuds in with music on....

Do you ever find yourself wasting time ruminating on the past and what could have been different or on the mistakes you made that you wish you could take back? How about the good times? We can also get sucked into sadness that those good times are "over". Both of these scenarios rob us of the present moment that we are now missing out on. I know there have been times I've gotten stuc...

What does the word, "failure" really mean? Who gets to decide what a failure is? So many times, we decide for ourselves or others that we or they have "failed" because something didn't work out the way we thought it would or wanted it to. But the real failure comes from not learning the lesson it was teaching. I recently quit my job in accounting and took another job in a c...

Come along with me as I walk my dog and talk about visiting a friend who recently lost her mom. Showing love to those who are hurting is important, whether it’s sitting by a loved one while they are dying or going to see a friend when they are grieving. Death is part of life. Tell those you love how you feel about them. Say what you need to say to them. Tomorrow isn’t promised. Sometimes it’s the...

Who doesn't love a good grandpa story? Today I wanted to talk to you about one of the best men I ever knew. My grandpa Henry was so many things to so many people. He was a son, a husband, a father, a carpenter, a logger, a farmer, a story-teller and, most of all, a teacher. He was a teacher about life and what is really important. His impact on me was immeasurable, even though he passed away w...

"We are stronger in the places we've been broken," is a favorite saying of mine. It paraphrases a quote from Ernest Hemingway. I remember when my son broke his hand playing baseball. We didn't know it was broken until a couple weeks later when he re-broke it. The doctors were amazed at the speed in which his bone had healed itself. The orthopedic doctor said, "The good news is, you will never brea...

Is it truly better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, like the saying tells us? Well, I say, "yes". In episode 14, I talked about vulnerability and that it means opening ourselves up to being hurt. Without that openness, we can never experience real connection with others. This heartbreak thing can happen in any deep, loving relationship, romantic or otherwise. We ca...

I had a conversation years ago with my dad, a fire chief, about diamonds and how they don't burn in a fire but they are lost in the soot and no one can find them. I thought about this recently and realized, there has to be a lesson here. I know... pretty predictable that we are the diamonds who get lost in the rubble. But let's dig deeper, no pun intended, and get down to the issue of life's soot...

I recently went on a walk with my dog and looked up and saw the Big Dipper for the first time in I don't know how long. It reminded me of laying in the grass as a kid and looking up at the constellations. Then I walked under a streetlight and, of course, I could no longer see the stars. This got me thinking. What a metaphor for life. So often, we get distracted by the "streetlights" of the world,...

Are you living your whole life worried about others might think or say about you? Is your existence a mask you put on for other people's approval? I know how exhausting it is to live like that. You go to bed at the end of the day knowing you lived for everyone else's approval and to check all the boxes but didn't stay true to who you are. Stop and think about what is wrong with just being you? You...

How many times do we think something complimentary about someone and just don't say it? Why don't we? Let's start giving out compliments and brighten someone's day! On a deeper level, are there things we need to say to those we care about and love that we are just too afraid to express? One of the top five regrets of the dying is the wish to have had to courage to express themselves. If it was you...