Taking a Moment to Be Uplifted
The world is hard to take right now, so I seek out ways to find joy, laugh, and be inspired. One way I do this is by turning off the news and listening to something uplifting that releases oxytocin, known as the bonding or love hormone.
Lately, I’ve been listening to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast “Wiser Than Me” where she talks with older women she respects. She invites their stories and reflections with great curiosity. I always feel good after listening.
A Few Episodes That Really Lit Me Up
The episode with Gloria Steinem, now 90 years old. Steinem discusses the importance of her chosen community of friends and allies when she was a social-political activist and how vital this community is now that she is 90 and living independently in NYC.
There is a lesson here about developing, nurturing, and sustaining connections — especially with people who add value to our lives, and where we add value to theirs.
The episode with Julie Andrews. At 88, Andrews is a former singer and actress. In 1999, she developed hoarseness and underwent surgery that left her with significant vocal cord damage, unable to sing. Andrews talks about that journey and how her daughter encouraged her to start writing, leading her to become a successful author.
There is a valuable lesson here about the willingness to pivot while experiencing great loss and grief.
And an episode with one of my favorite heroes, Anne Lamott, age 70, a political activist, writer, and public speaker. The episode with Anne is filled with wisdom, humor, and stories from her journey with addiction, being a single mother, a person of color, and meeting the love of her life.
A particularly wonderful story she tells is about the origin of Bird by Bird, the title of one of her best-selling books. Lamott talks about her brother struggling with a report in grade school. He had left it until the night before it was due. The topic was local birds.
She overheard her dad say something like, “You can do this, son. You just have to do it one step at a time. Read about a bird, look at pictures of that bird. See what you like about it. What do you notice? And just write it down. Bird by bird.”
There is a valuable lesson here for when projects or problems seem too big and overwhelming, just start, bird by bird.
Dreyfus wraps up each episode with a call to her own mom, asking her opinion on what she heard and its context in her mom’s life journey, as these women are her mother’s contemporaries. The insights add great value, sweetness ,and context.
If you are in the mood to be uplifted, gain insight, and reflect on what matters in your own life, check out “Wiser Than Me” from wherever you access podcasts.
Connection and bonding are important as we move through times of great uncertainty. Nurture relationships, create community, read for escapism and pleasure, and allow yourself to daydream.