Let the Verse Flow: Personal Growth Thru a Creative Lens

After three years of storytelling, spoken word poetry, and reflections on creativity, grief, caregiver self-care, and healing, Let the Verse Flow is taking an extended hiatus as I transition more fully into audiobook narration. What started as a way to channel my creativity turned out to be intimately tied to the grief I felt over my mom's illness and passing. I've learned so much from p...

In this episode, I reflect on my mother’s final life lesson (#10): the idea that we each can do our part to leave the world better than we found it. We can get granular in our thinking and understand the impact of small acts of kindness—attention, presence, and everyday compassion. My mom did it by getting to know people through a lens of discovery and acceptance.  Drawing from memories of my moth...

We are not meant to get through life alone. In this episode, I share my mom’s ninth lesson: the importance of letting others take care of you.  Today's spoken word piece, one of my new favorites, is about how we aren't islands. Even if we don't recognize it, we don't live in a vacuum. We need connection; even when the world feels intrusive, and people are "too much to hand...

Today's lesson (#8 in my 10-part series called " What My Mama Taught Me: 10 Life Lessons on Compassion, Creativity, and Courage ”) is about starting before you are ready and having the courage to experiment and pursue the creative projects that interest you . Whenever I begin something new, I tend to research it thoroughly. But there comes a point when learning has to give way to doing....

My mom’s 7th life lesson was on the healing power of touch; the way simple, physical gestures like a hand on the chest, a stroke of the forehead, or a hug can calm the nervous system and communicate love without words. In this episode, we’ll explore how touch can regulate stress and anxiety through somatic practices, how early experiences with affection shape the way we give and receive love, and...

Today's lesson from my mom (lesson 6) is about learning the language of nature. How to let nature inspire your creativity, channel and reflect your emotions and bring comfort and micro-moments of mindfulness into your life. This episode begins with a spoken-word piece on the subtle ways we are connected to the natural world, from a whale song to moss-covered branches to wind, water, and soil....

In Part 5 of the Lessons My Mama Taught Me series, I reflect on a powerful truth my mother lived by: being hateful is incompatible with being whole . The episode opens with a spoken-word poem about the distances we travel to understand one another and how the differences we see on the surface often dissolve when we look more closely. I then share the story of my mother, a white woman raised in a s...

What happens when we give without thinking about what we’ll get back? In this episode, I explore the quiet power of generosity and everyday kindness. How do our small, everyday giving acts shape our identity and strengthen human connection? A smile on a crowded street. Holding the door. Driving a friend home. Doing someone’s laundry when they’re overwhelmed. These gestures may seem minor, but they...

What if one of life’s quiet superpowers is noticing?   What if noticing those things brings you closer to knowing yourself, to connecting with yourself, to cherishing yourself?   Sounds like pretty powerful stuff for a no-cost, simple act, and yet we don’t do it nearly enough. In this episode, I reflect on the third lesson my mother taught me: take notice of little, beautiful things, especially na...

This episode continues my 10-part series What My Mama Taught Me , reflecting on the wisdom, values, and way of being my mother embodied. Telling her stories and sharing her kindness and unique perspective help me honor her memory as I continue to grieve. It also encourages us to lean into loving, kind values during these troubling times. In Lesson #2 — Recognize the Good in Others , I discuss how...

This episode begins a 10-part series, What My Mama Taught Me: 10 Life Lessons on Compassion, Creativity, and Courage , inspired by the wisdom, love, and example of my mother. Today's lesson (#1): Let people know you love them . Over the next 10 episodes, I’ll discuss one piece of wisdom she taught me, weaving together personal stories, reflections on grief, caregiving, creativity, and compass...

What does it mean to be true to yourself? It’s often a question that we ponder at pivotal points in our lives, especially during midlife. In this episode, I explore what it means to be yourself creatively, authentically, and with greater self-awareness.  For inspiration, there’s poetry and a discussion of the role of mindfulness in living authentically. I also discuss an inspirational quote by All...

Grief comes in waves – successive, unpredictable, fierce or tumbling – and with each wave, we get swept up and taken to another place. It's often a mixed bag of emotions and thoughts, a place of anger, shame, nostalgia and memory, great sorrow, or even laughter and gratitude.  How can we steady ourselves when faced with all these conflicting feelings? With self-compassion. 💝 In today's...

This episode begins with an ode to an overwrought caregiver. I'm reaching out to my fellow caregiver tribe to remind you that what you do matters. When we care for an aging parent, child, partner, or neighbor, we impact our small piece of the world with our hearts and hands and unseen strength.  We can get so wrapped up in our caregiving tasks that we lose sight of what our caring means. Ther...

Do you have difficulty handling strong emotions like anger or frustration? Do you find yourself reaching for distractions like food or shopping, or alcohol to deal with stress or emotional overload? What does it look like to process emotions like anger successfully?  In this episode, I walk you through one recent instance in which I transformed my anger without engaging in any negative avoidance o...

In this episode, I explore how I transformed a recent fear-based question about the limits of aging into a reflection on possibilities, presence, and personal growth. In my last days of vacation, blissfully snorkeling in Oahu, Hawaii, I had a lingering question pop up in my mind about how much longer I would be able to snorkel. Could I snorkel at age 80 and beyond? This fear-based question about t...

In this episode, I unpack my wonderful vacation to Oahu, Hawaii, with a deep dive into how the flowers, sea animals, scents, and people inspire and re-energize my energy and commitment to my mindfulness practice. These two weeks of vacation are an important refresh, and the memories I make on these trips come back to me throughout the years, helping me be present for all the facets of my life.  On...

Do you struggle to let go of negative and automatic thoughts of dread about potential upcoming events? Do you second-guess yourself and replay past situations and decisions, wondering how you could have made so many mistakes? Do you find it difficult to let go of anxious questions and scenarios that play over and over again in your mind? Khalil Gibran once wrote, "We choose our joys and sorro...

In this episode, we’ll explore the restorative powers of deep rest -- a quiet, safe, still space that helps re-energize just about every part of your life. Through deep rest, you heal yourself all the way to the cellular level and find a new vitality that helps you be more creative and focused. After a month of heavy life transitions, I found myself needing to rest, not sleep or distraction, but a...

Explore how Vincent Van Gogh’s insight into small, consistent actions can transform your personal growth journey. Learn why tiny steps toward your goals can lead to great success. This episode, inspired by my trip to the Netherlands and a visit to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, is about the genius of small movements in the direction of your goals, desires, and passions. A year after I visited t...

In this episode, we explore mindful ways to cope with grief and loss, embracing the changing, shapeshifting nature of grief. If you or someone you know is navigating grief, this episode offers compassionate insights and healing strategies. After nearly four years of dealing with the sadness of handling my mom's Alzheimer's and ill health, I'm noticing some changes in my thinking --...

In this episode, I explore how embracing minimalism in midlife can simplify your life, reduce clutter, and free your mind. Discover how letting go of possessions, but holding onto memories, can transform your emotional wellbeing. The older I get, the less stuff I seem to need.  For most of my life, I was firmly rooted in the knick-knack, bric-a-brac camp (isn’t bric-a-brac such a great phrase?). I...

When does self-improvement cross the line into self-flagellation? Are we using personal development and goal setting to undermine ourselves? How can self-improvement and self-acceptance co-exist in a world that increasingly wants us to choose sides? In this episode, we'll reflect on what's working in our lives and strike a balance between self-improvement and self-acceptance by acknowled...

Do you struggle to make time for artmaking, causing you not to get started?   Do you think your art isn't worth appreciating or sharing because it's not good enough, finished, or polished?  Sometimes these negative thoughts can be overcome when we lower the stakes around our artmaking. We may put so much pressure on ourselves, that it stifles our creative process. And that's a shame...

Feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands? Need a buffer to preserve your optimism and sense of purpose in an increasingly stressful world?  Then, this episode is for you! Discover how art appreciation can restore energy, inspire creativity, and deepen your connection to the world. Press play and listen to this episode as I explore: the benefits of art-making and art appreciation, especially in lessen...