The Well-Tended Life

Why listen? Here are just a few “heart taps” from this episode with restauranteur Nadia Liu Spellman:     1.    Seasons change fast.     2.    “Be a self sufficient woman.” Nadia’s father.     3.    How you deal with your career evolves and changes.     4.    Take a minute to just breathe.     5.    Take the time to have connections with people.     6.    Take time for yourself first. Not just to...

Today’s episode includes an afterword I wrote for this beautiful book: “Unearthing The Secret Garden: The Plants & Places That Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett” by Marta McDowell About the book from the publisher: For over a century, gardeners have been drawn into the story of Mary, Dickon, Colin, and the garden inside the locked door at Misselthwaite Manor.  Frances Hodgson Burnett was an unl...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this episode with singer/songwriter Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra: Kevin’s dad said, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”   What is your second act? Alway believe that your greatest work is ahead of you. As you get older, you have to take overt action to continue to be inspired.  Seeking  inspiration keeps those neuropathways malleable and flexi...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this episode with Christina Wallace: 1. Instead of saying, “I don’t fit in anywhere”, reframe that and say, “I just need to find out where I fit”. Because the truth is, not fitting in is not a judgment call on you, it’s just an observation. 2. Know “who you are”, separate from ‘what you do’, that way…if what you “do” gets taken away, you don’t lose w...

WHY LISTEN?  Here are just a few “heart taps” from this episode: It’s not about what you eat: it’s about why you are eating.  Many eating issue stem from trauma.  Create a body image timeline and go back to the first time you started thinking about or hearing comments about your body.  “We are all operating on a belief system that we might not be aware of” Many times, people’s opinions about you…a...

Why listen? Here are just a few heart taps from this week’s episode.  Co-dependency is an addiction. Each version of who you have been is so important because it helped to make you who you are.  Listen to your body. It will tell you when things aren’t right. What we what we put in our bodies and minds has the potential to help us or hurt us. And each bite of food is another opportunity to put good...

Have you taken a good look at your life lately? Or are you rushing past your own life… on your way to tend to everyone else? In this episode we take a quick tour of your life, in its current state, as it really is. And for the purpose of this tour, and this entire podcast for that matter, I want you to imagine your life as a garden.  After you listen, if you are ready to start doing some work on y...

Why Listen? Here are the heart taps from today’s episode: Give yourself the time to figure things out, vs rushing through it.  The blank page will catch anything that you throw at it.  Your thing, your passion…doesn’t have to be something hard…what feels easy and natural? Explore that!  Remember…where you start, is never where you end.  Journaling tells you what you need to hear, and it’s going to...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this episode with Jaime Kurowski of She Makes Art :  We get to choose the words that we surround ourselves with.  The journey back to ourselves is a daily practice.  If you don’t like where you are…ask yourself what are you repeating, what are you thinking, saying and believing?  Choose love over fear.  If you are constantly reliving the past or the...

 Why Listen?   Are you covered up in the weeds of busyness? Do you feel like you need to make room? Take a listen to hear how I began to MAKE ROOM.  HOW TO MAKE ROOM:   1. Write down all the things that you would rather be doing if you weren’t so busy.  2. Create a no speech so you are prepared to say no.  3. Consider resigning from things you are currently committed to. 4. Then watch out for the...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with artist Haleigh De Rocher: Don’t be afraid to listen to your gut and change/shift…even when you are part way through. You don’t have to know what you are doing, you don’t need a plan…just do it.  Set aside chunks of time for specific tasks…and stay focused.  Want to be inspired creatively? Just open a new book Don’t hide your...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with author NICKI CARLSON: Passion is contagious  The veil that separates us from our loved ones who have died is so much thinner than we recognize.  We have to take the time to look around us.  There is good in the grief because grief creates intimacy.  We do hard things when we have no choice but to do hard things.  When going...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with artist and Secret Garden builder ALLISON KEYS: When you allow delight into your own life …it ends up delighting other people. Make getting dressed a game. Put on a color that represents what you want to be and watch as you begin to reflect that very thing.  It’s good to be protective of your space.  When creating a secret sp...

Why Listen? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with teacher/artist/seed planter GINNY MOSSMAN: Sometimes we just have to turn the page. We are meant to live through the ugly, TOGETHER.  The stuff that we carry, we unintentionally take out on the people around us. Be intentional. Start as you plan to go.  Pay attention to what people need to hear.  You don’t have to be a profe...

WHY LISTEN? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with DEAN FITCH:  Resilience to him really means to bounce back and to bounce back better, not just enduring or adapting, or recovering quickly, but to spring forth as a better version of yourself. Your strengths are usually hiding in plain view.  4 Key Traits of Resilience that YOU CAN DEVELOP: optimism, kindness, humility, and...

WHY LISTEN? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with author ASH BECKHAM:  I am a work in progress. I’ve never met an interesting person that hasn’t had some challenges. We have to be able to toggle between our different things each day…mom, entrepreneur, advocate, speaker…and to make room for that. We hold in secrets because we don’t want to admit it to ourselves and because o...

WHY LISTEN? Here are just a few HEART TAPS from this amazing episode with author RACHEL DODGE: Creating a rhythm for quality time, helps us to stay connected  When you say no to something, you are actually giving someone else the opportunity to say yes to it! Never say “never”…because so many times…that then becomes the thing that you focus on…and then it happens!  Just do the next thing…then you’...

I am so excited to announce that a brand new season of The Well-Tended Life Podcast will be back in full bloom on JANUARY 11th, 2023.  As a reminder…The Well-Tended Life Podcast is all about intentional living, that’s inspired by my great great grandmother’s classic book The Secret Garden.  For those who are just joining in here, let me introduce myself.  I’m Keri Wilt, a speaker, writer, and hear...

In this episode my guest, my friend and photographer Bella Shearheart chats with us about the practice of body positivity and shares the inspiration behind her latest project that celebrates some amazing women and their beautiful bodies. This is the 6th episode in this series about practices, so go back and watch any that you may have missed! Guest Bio: Bella Shearhart was born and raised in Kerrv...

In this episode my guest, author and artist Carrie Schmitt, chats with us about the practice of turning our burdens into blessings and how this practice has changed her life. This is the fifth episode in this series about practices, so go back and watch any that you may have missed!  Guest Bio:  Carrie Schmitt is an artist, author, and instructor who began painting as a therapeutic practice after...

In this episode, my guest author and artist Tracey Hewitt chats with us about the practice of creativity and it’s profound effect on our daily lives. This is the fourth in this series about practices, so go back and watch any that you have missed! Guest Bio: Tracey is a visual artist, writer and art teacher with a special interest in the healing and therapeutic benefits of creativity. She lives by...

This week’s guest is wellness advocate Giovanna Capozza and she chats with us how the practice of healthcare.  Show Notes: Feelings Buried Alive Never Die By Karol K Truman https://www.amazon.com/dp/0911207023/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iyDhFbMHSZ7PD  Guest Bio: Always a seeker of answers with a Sherlock Holmes-esque tendency, Giovanna spent most of her early and late 20s fascinated by the world of natu...

Friends, this is the 5th and final episode in the “Secret Garden Stories” series that features many of those who have brought this new Secret Garden film to life. I had so much fun talking with Michelle and Dixie for today's podcast. Michelle is the Emmy winning costume designer who had a real “vision for growth” in mind as she designed for this film. And Dixie...well she is the pure delight...

This is the 4th episode in the “Secret Garden Stories” series that features many of those who have brought this new Secret Garden film to life. In this one, I get to chat with the screenwriter, Jack Thorne. It is such an intimate peek behind the curtain about how films are really made...and his charm and honesty about the difficulties of bringing a beloved classic to life is heartwarming. You will...

Martha...Martha...Martha! For this week’s Podcast, I interviewed my VERY FAVORITE character from The Secret Garden, played in the newest movie by Isis Davis. I was truly giddy for this one ya’ll...and I am now an even bigger fan of hers. She is absolutely delightful and as we chat, she openly shares about how empowering this experience was for her and how it helped launch a new part of her career....