Another World Is Probable

My very talented friend Krista Kahl hand-painted a shirt for me with the Pegasus constellation on it. I love this shirt. It’s the most interesting and unique thing I own and every time I wear it, I want people to compliment it. I have worn this shirt many times in numerous settings, always hoping someone will say, “I like your shirt” or even just “Cool shirt.” But they don’t. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I do that thing you’re not supposed to do and take many things personally. If someone doesn’t call me back, my mind assumes it’s because they don’t want to be friends anymore. If a new person in my life doesn’t respond to a text message, it’s because they secretly hate me. As I chatted about this with one of my soul sisters she said, “Even if someone hates you, it’s not personal.” More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I love a good coincidence and I’ll tell you why in a moment. First, here’s one that happened to me in the past week. The chain of events leading to the coincidence started in April when a man contacted me via Instagram from Lebanon. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

The other day my higher power told me not to attend a Zoom meeting. But I felt like I should attend because it would be good for my novel writing, I’d skipped the previous week, etc. Within minutes of signing on, Zoom froze and kicked me out of the meeting. I tried again and the same thing happened. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I had a very interesting conversation this week with a friend. He said there’s a difference between feeling an emotion and attaching a story to it. For instance, I may be sad about losing a relationship, which is a natural emotion, but what makes it worse is the story I tell myself on top of it such as, “I’ll be alone for the rest of my life,” “No one will ever love me the same way,” etc. I can compound an emotional state by adding a story and really working myself into a tizzy. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I apologize for my body. In implicit and explicit ways, I say, “I’m sorry I’m like this. I wish things were different. Thank you for bearing with me.” I’m not engaging in what Sonya Renee Taylor dubs “radical self-love” in her book The Body is Not an Apology. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I’m sharing this story to serve as a reminder for myself but also in case it’s helpful for anyone else. For months, things have been rough financially. I’ve watched my savings dwindle because the high-paying clients of yore disappeared. As a businesswoman, I’m probably not supposed to say that because people want to work with those who are successful and raking in the dough. Well, what can I say? I don’t know how to pretend. But this has a happy ending. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

When I flew from Austin the other week, I was so grateful to have TSA precheck because the regular security line snaked around the airport. As many as 1 million people descended on Texas so the airport was packed. However, I ran into a snafu. Learn more about how I turned this snafu into service. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I keep thinking about a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. However, instead of only applying the growth mindset to myself, I also apply it to how I approach the world. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I keep thinking about a poem/quote I read from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés that I’ll share an excerpt of: “We do not become healers. We came as healers. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are. We do not become storytellers. We came as carriers of the stories we and our ancestors actually lived. We are." More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

Lately, I've been humbled and in awe of the magic, the mystery, and the surprise of life. So often I think I know how things will play out and I'm being shown, yet again, I have no idea. This has come up especially regarding people. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you already saw the picture associated with this post but I want to tell the story behind it. The past week was rough. But something delightful happened in the middle of it. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I recently took the University of Pennsylvania’s VIA Survey of Character Strengths in an effort to leverage my strengths and become happier. Marty Seligman, the father of positive psychology, said to be happier we can use our top strengths and apply them to something we don’t like. For instance, if you don’t like filing your taxes and your top strength is humor and play, you can gamify filing your taxes. My top strength completely shocked me. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

Growing up, I was the weird kid because I didn’t fit in with my peers. I was a vegetarian in the 90s and my first-grade teacher announced to the class I didn’t eat meat because I was Jewish. (I think you know this but just in case, the two are not related.) I didn’t grow up in a bastion of diversity and understanding and that’s colored, well, a lot. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I see a heck of a lot of people saying, “I could never do that,” which is patently false. We are all capable of good and evil. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

This week the message I keep receiving is, “Trust the sweetness,” meaning, trust the sweetness of life, trust the sweetness of possibility, trust the sweetness of my relationships. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

In 12-step programs, there’s a saying that for anything to change, you must go through the three “A’s:” awareness, acceptance, and action. I’m very good at awareness and action. Acceptance? Not so much. I want to skip over acceptance and go right into action to fix whatever is wrong. I don’t want to sit with it or accept it. That’s the uncomfortable part. But there’s something to acceptance. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

For the first time in many, MANY years I hosted a group meditation at my apartment. It sparked a cleaning frenzy and had me looking at my apartment with fresh eyes. Almost exactly four years ago I stuck two pieces of masking tape above my doorknob with the phrase, “This life now belongs to love and anything can happen.” More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

I’m all about the questions these days. I want to be happy, joyous, and free so I’m asking what that looks like and how to accomplish it. I’m aware that happiness requires daily action, it’s not a destination, but I know the way I think and act has a lot to do with how I feel. Often, my thoughts are negative and I slip into worst-case scenarios, which doesn’t feel great. There's a concept from 12-step programs that's helping me. More in this week's post. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support

On the heels of my post from last week about not settling, emerged another question: “What is my capacity for joy?” If I go after what I truly want, how comfortable am I getting it? Or experiencing joy in general? It turns out I’m not all that comfortable. It’s been humbling to realize I feel better when things are going wrong than when they’re going right. And also to recognize I stop myself from feeling joy by imagining all the terrible things that could happen. More in this week's post. Also, here are the links to Amal's thesis and video. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/another-world-is-probable/support