November 29, 2023 • 38 mins
You ever find yourself searching for an antidote to the chaos of the world? Let's journey together into the warm, comforting embrace of hope, gratitude, and the soothing scent of candles. Special guest Kate De Palma, former teacher turned candle artisan and founder of Scented Designs, illuminates us with her story of transformation. She shares her leap from the classroom to the candle workshop, and how her newfound passion became a beacon of joy and community.
Our intimate conversation continues under the soft glow of intention setting and candle rituals. We share our personal experiences, revealing how these practices have brought light and positivity into our lives. The transformative power of ancestral healing, the art of candle hygiene, and the practical use of candles as tools for setting intentions are all threads woven into this enlightening chat. So, light a candle with us as we explore these heartwarming rituals together.
Finally, we explore the importance of balance and boundary setting. Co-host Omar Brownson shares his ambitious dreams for sustainable growth while preserving his own wellbeing. We reflect on the harmony between personal and professional life, using the symbol of the Fox Glove flower, a metaphor for singing your heart's song. We wrap up our conversation with a focus on the simple practices that can spark joy, hope, and gratitude in our lives - think candles, note cards, and music. So, join us as we kindle hope and gratitude in the cozy glow of our candle-filled spaces.
---
Create an intentional practice with your own Gratitude Blooming card deck, notecards, candle and much much more at our shop at www.gratitudeblooming.com.
Learn more about our co-hosts and special guest for Season 4:
Co-host Belinda Liu | Hestia Retreat Centers
Co-host Omar Brownson | Trickster's Guide to Immortality on Substack
Special Guest Dr. Paul Wang | The Dao Center
If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and review. Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us grow.
Share your thoughts and comments by emailing us at hello@gratitudeblooming.com. We love hearing from our listeners!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Omar Brownson (00:11):
Hello Belinda.
Belinda Liu (00:14):
Hey.
Omar Brownson (00:14):
Omar, I'm excited to have a guest this week and
you continue to have thisconversation around what are we
lighting up in the world and,you know, what are we bringing
attention to and really, how dowe find those daily practices
(00:35):
that just give us a little bitof hope?
You know, these are just, insome ways, such difficult and
troubling times and I feel likeI've been saying that for a
while now.
You know, when you and I firststarted collaborating during the
pandemic and holding weeklyspaces, and each week it felt
like, oh, some big challenge wasunfolding.
And three years later I feellike we're still in these times,
(01:00):
and so, you know, I think itjust gives even more meaning and
purpose to find these dailypractices.
Like what is it within our owncontrol that can help give us
sort of the self-care and thehealing in the face of, you know
, so much turmoil?
Belinda Liu (01:19):
Thank you for naming that, omar.
I feel like part of our worktogether is about being real
with what's happening in life,and you know, this fall season
is so much about gratitude andabout grief and loss, and you
know, I'm finding myself lookingto nature right now and seeing
(01:43):
these beautiful leaves on thetrees and they're falling to the
ground and so much color, yetso much loss, and it feels like
that's just reflected in what'sgoing on collectively right now.
So, yeah, how do we find thatinner anchor?
And I am so grateful that wehave amazing partners in our
(02:10):
gratitude ecosystem to reallylike lift each other up.
As you know, artist collectiveand a small business, we are
constantly trying to learn fromother small business owners, and
so I'm really delighted tointroduce Kate De Palma of
Scented Designs.
Kate, you are our candle makerof gratitude blooming and it's
(02:36):
so lovely to be able to, youknow, share your magic with our
community.
And so I would love for you tostart by just introducing your
journey, because one of theareas that we've connected on in
our lives has been the factthat we both were classroom
teachers at one point in ourprofessional journeys.
(02:56):
So, yeah, how did you become?
Go from a teacher to havingyour own business?
And and how did you choose thecandle making business?
Kate De Palma (03:08):
Goodness well, hi everyone.
Thanks so much for having meBlenden Omar, so excited to be
here and just having beenbrought into the gratitude
blooming community.
I feel so fortunate to be amongso many wonderful souls and
that's one of the things in myjourney from being a teacher to
being a small business owner.
For me it's been the peoplethat's been kind of driving,
(03:32):
driving me along and helping mefind my way, because I was an
English teacher four years highschool, four years eighth grade,
and candle making was just ahobby.
I picked up at one point becauseI liked being crafty and wanted
to not be on the computer,wanted to be doing something
with my hands, engaging thesenses.
But I didn't know anythingabout running a business.
(03:55):
Even when I launched thebusiness I didn't think I was
starting a business.
It just kind of happened.
I brought candles to a craftfair.
People loved them, they soldand then, you know, after the
holiday rush I kind of realized,whoa, I have a business.
But it wasn't.
It wasn't until I kind ofstarted joining these groups and
meeting other business owners.
(04:16):
That that's what transformedthe business for me from a craft
I did on the side to I'm abusiness owner, and let me see
where that journey takes me, andthat's a journey that I, of
course, continue to be on, andI'm finding new things out every
(04:38):
day.
Omar Brownson (04:40):
I would love to hear a little bit more of that
evolution, right From sort of asteady paycheck as a teacher,
summers off.
My mom is a former elementaryschool teacher, my dad's a
professor, so you know, Iappreciate also just the calling
that that is often inspired by,to really then being a small
(05:02):
business owner and really, youknow, all of a sudden everything
is on you and you know, and youusually you do a craft because
it's just, it's a passion, right.
I was recently a chair, was ina community called Ubuntu
Climate Initiative and we had agathering in Atlanta recently
(05:23):
and the chair of the NEA, theNational Endowment of the Arts,
was there and she talked aboutamateur artists, amateur means
to love, right, and so like it'sa passion.
When it becomes a business, youknow it, it pulls on that
passion in a different way, andso how's that journey and
(05:44):
evolution been for you?
Kate De Palma (05:47):
I come from a family of teachers.
My mom is a preschool teacher,my grandma is a teacher, my
brother is a teacher Just a lotof teachers.
My husband is a teacher.
I met him and there are so manythings to love about teaching
and when I when I kind ofshifted away from that, it was
more just to see what was elsewas out there, because I started
(06:07):
teaching right out of gradschool and you're kind of
looking down, you know your lifeof the next 40 years, and I
kind of had this like oh, I'mnot, I'm not sure I want to be
doing the same thing for 40years, even though the day to
day as a teacher is so different.
You're always dealing withdifferent challenges and things
come up and that's part of whatI loved about it is that no two
(06:27):
days were ever the same.
But just kind of looking downlike, okay, it's this.
I made this decision to become ateacher when I was 21.
What am I going to do with this?
Really, you know the path and Ijust was open to seeing what it
would be like to do somethingelse.
So I left teaching, took someinterior design classes, like
just kind of explored a littlebit.
(06:49):
You know still, I'm still in my20s and I felt that space and I
leaned into that and gavemyself the permission to explore
and, like I said, because thebusiness kind of came out of
just a hobby, that was never theplan.
But when I started doing it Ifound passion in the creation of
(07:09):
something and the creativity ofsetting up a booth for a fair
like you know how do you havethe displays and the signage and
it really appealed to that needfor creativity and color and
textures that I feel like I'vealways had.
I loved scrapbooking as a kidright kind of.
It's all colors and textures.
And then as the businessevolved, I realized that the
(07:34):
part I loved and love now aboutit is very, very different than
when I started to that thatpiece.
You were saying, omar, aboutamateur and I've never heard
that before.
But I love it and I get.
I see the root, the root wordin amateur and it's not the
candle making itself that Inecessarily love anymore Now,
(07:54):
it's the business building, it'sthe networking, it's the
relationship, it's the strategy.
So I've seen that evolution inmyself very much on my journey.
But it's always like where isthat passion for me?
And then I kind of just followthat and I try not to tie myself
down to what I used to loveabout it and I lean into what is
(08:16):
the thing I love now.
Omar Brownson (08:17):
It's good to know that love can evolve right.
Belinda Liu (08:20):
Yeah, this is going to be a good title for the
podcast.
Omar Love can evolve, and whatI appreciate about your story,
kate, is how much of it is aboutyour inner knowing of what do
you need to feel fulfilled orfind meaning, and it's less
(08:41):
about the product and it's moreabout the way in which you get
to the end result, which is thecreativity, the relationship
building like.
Those are all strengths thatI've seen in you as I've gotten
to know you and worked with youover almost a year now, I
believe.
Crazy yeah, yeah, and I wouldlove for us to touch on a little
(09:05):
bit of just like, the magic andthe ritual behind candles.
So, for those of you that arejoining us on YouTube, this is
one of the candles, this is theJoy candle Omar, you've got your
gratitude candle and this isone of four.
(09:25):
We have four different kindsjoy, curiosity, gratitude and
healing and they're allconnected to our gardens.
We have four gardens and notecards that align with those
gardens.
Omar Brownson (09:43):
Music album.
Belinda Liu (09:45):
Yes music just released the Garden of Curiosity
, which, I have to say, it'shard to say to have a favorite,
but this one, the Curiosity onethat just launched for fall, I
just love it.
It's so dynamic and you couldlook at them in one way and say,
wow, these are products, theseare things you can give as gifts
, and it's very meaningful andthey're really beautiful.
(10:08):
But I think behind all of thatis the intention, and so I'd
love for us to talk a little bitabout that.
What is that practice ofcreating an intention and
letting that intention inspirehope, Like you said, omar, at
the beginning?
Omar, what for you, is your wayof creating the intention, and
(10:30):
you've been working with thegratitude candle.
Omar Brownson (10:32):
I'm curious what connections you're making in
your daily life to stay inspiredwas very timely that you asked
Belinda, because just yesterdayI started working with this
Indigenous healer and sheinvited me to really focus on
some ancestral healing and work.
(10:53):
And so she asked me to bring abasil plant, a white candle and
a picture of myself when I was ayounger kid.
And so yesterday she uses thefour directions, so north is the
direction of ancestry, and so Iwas meditating, I lit my
(11:17):
gratitude candle and mygrandmother shared, before she
left, like she wrote a series ofstories like little vignettes
of her life, and one of thevignettes was that she just to
give some context, mygrandmother was born in 1917,
chinese, born in China, and wentto Berkeley and studied
(11:41):
chemistry.
So I can only imagine just likehow sort of pioneering of a
person she was to be able to godo that.
But she had moved down.
Now she's in her early 40s,she's got four young kids, her
husband passed away and she'snow managing this motel on
(12:02):
Venice Boulevard, and so youknow she's just juggling a lot.
And she shares one of thestories where one night a
customer came in and it wasn't acustomer, it was a robber who
had a gun, and so she was robbedat gunpoint of all the money
that she had.
And this was just one moment ofmini where she was like robbed
(12:25):
with a knife.
She was like just some peoplejust straight up, like she
stepped out and then somebodytook all the money and so just
talking about running a smallbusiness right and in such a
very tough environment, and so Ihad that story open, you know,
with the candle lit, and I justmeditated, you know, for the
(12:46):
next 40 minutes of just likeholding compassion for this
woman who had faced so manybarriers and continued to face
so many barriers and challenges,and just she probably never had
the chance to like pause in theway that I was able to pause in
that moment.
And so, you know, and the healerwas just like a white candle is
(13:08):
like we have to bring the lightwherever we can.
And so I just really, you knowand I did not do it knowing that
we were going to be recording apodcast with UK today around
the candle it is beautiful thatthere was just such intention
and that I had one that was notjust any random candle from the
store.
It was like, no, there's a lotof intention behind the theme
(13:33):
and the focus and so, yeah, itwas a very beautiful kind of way
to just pause and recognize thehealing work that is possible
when we create room for it.
Belinda Liu (13:43):
Wow, I know we've talked about your grandmother in
past episodes of this podcastand it's beautiful to honor her
in this particular way because Ididn't realize you know some of
the hardships that sheexperienced in that.
You know just, you know feelingsafe and well, that was the
(14:04):
thing is like.
Omar Brownson (14:04):
at the end of the story she even said like she
was just grateful to be alive,right, that like that she wasn't
harmed, and so, even in theface of that violence, she was
still able to find somegratitude, which was just so
remarkable.
Belinda Liu (14:21):
And so in the summertime I really worked a lot
with the joy candle and and Ifor me, I'm very sensory, like
it's hard for me to write toexpress what I feel.
It's a lot easier for me to,you know, create an experience
around something or be in natureand feel something, and and so
(14:44):
this joy candle I would everymorning, instead of just like
running out of bed making thecoffee, checking my phone, which
sometimes I do, you know, it'slike what's, what do I need to
stay on top of.
Today, I did have this moreintentional practice of every,
every morning, just lighting thecandle, first thing, and just
(15:06):
having that reminder of like,okay, stay in your joy right now
, because you're always beingpulled to do this and that, and
the other thing, especially juststewarding land, having a
retreat center where there's,you know, people you got to take
care of, and summer is like thebiggest, busiest time of year
for us.
So I feel like for me, thedaily practice of having that
(15:30):
reminder was really helpfularound an intention, you know,
knowing that the season of thesummer was going to be hard work
in some ways, but also like,like, come on, remember to play,
remember to have fun, and thenI would literally let that
candle burn for as long as Ineeded that reminder.
(15:50):
And, and for me what was nice islike the smell would percolate
the room.
It was this like, like citrusy,joyful smell.
So even if I couldn't see theflame, I could feel the presence
of the joy.
And yeah, kate, you taught ussomething really important about
candle hygiene which I neverknew about before, which is, you
(16:13):
know, in the first burn you'vegot to let the whole thing burn,
you know, so it doesn't tunneldown.
You can get the most out of thecandle if you really let it
express itself, and I mean, Iwant to say that takes about at
least an hour, would you saylike to get the whole top layer.
Kate De Palma (16:31):
Yeah, at least I think it's about an hour for
every inch diameter of thecandle.
So for these ones we have, it'sgoing to take a good two hours,
maybe more three hours, which Ithink is a good lesson to,
though, right, if we're lettingthe candle as a reminder to
pause and have space in our dayand you know, part of a routine
(16:51):
like the you need to let it burnto get to the edge.
It's just, it's kind of a nicereminder to slow down a little
bit and let it unfold the wayyou know it's supposed to.
Belinda Liu (17:03):
I love that.
Omar, your example is this likereally deep ritual and ceremony
to honor, you know, anintention or a person and mine
is more around, you know, justhaving this like every single
day reminder to like stay joyful.
So I'm curious, as someone whois around candles all the time
(17:24):
and seeing people work with yourcandles, what, what is a
practice that has resonated foryou?
Kate De Palma (17:30):
I love that people will share with me kind
of how they use our candles orwhen they will, and they range
from teacher.
Friends of mine say, yeah, I'llsit, I'll light one in my
classroom at the end of the daybecause it was full of middle
schoolers who went to PE.
I think was sweaty and kind ofgross.
So I light a candle while Igrade papers or a lot of people
(17:50):
will use them as part of theirmorning routine.
I get photos sent to me oftheir journaling in the morning.
So journaling, you know, withtheir coffee or their tea, the
five am, and so I love it.
If people heard of that gettingup at five am and I'm not an
expert, but I was.
A couple of women in my groupwere trying to institute that
(18:11):
practice where you get up at 5am, but you don't start your day
right away.
You actually have space for youknow, some journaling and
intentions, and they would liketheir candle kind of during that
that piece.
A little bit of meditation,yoga I've heard it with people
who practice yoga the light onefor their practice.
So a lot of different things.
(18:32):
For me personally, I lovehaving them in the evening to
just help me settle in afterkind of a busy day of running
around doing all the things.
The candle just sort of remindsme to okay, now is the time to
slow down.
You had a productive day.
It's okay if you didn't finisheverything.
Look like the candle, let'shang out.
And I like the joy one a lottoo.
(18:53):
Felinda, I love how energizingthe citrus is.
So, even though it's likeevening and it's time to settle
in, you know, relax, calm down.
I like that little energy boostbecause it's a good reminder
for me but even though I mightbe really tired from work, that
I don't have to just be a blobin the evening Like now is the
(19:13):
time to engage in a differentway, to make it meaningful time
spent with my family.
Where I do have energy.
It's just a different energy Ican call forth and help me
harness that time and help it bejoyful for my family, where I'm
not just oh my God, I'mexhausted from work.
Omar Brownson (19:31):
That's beautiful.
And just now, as you're kind ofinto this practice of building
a business and you know findingthose moments for your own
self-care, what questions areyou sort of now holding sort of
in this next phase of things?
Kate De Palma (19:50):
I think the question often comes down to how
do I continue to grow thebusiness while maintaining or
even building better boundariesbetween business and my own life
?
So how do I build a sustainablebusiness that continues to
(20:10):
bring me joy and that I continueto love and that doesn't burn
me out?
Omar Brownson (20:15):
No pun intended.
So we love obviously bringingquestions into the gratitude
blooming space and Belinda justpulled up the gratitude blooming
digital card deck.
There's seven rows, six columns, and you know she will scroll
(20:37):
and just invite you to tell herto stop when you want.
Kate De Palma (20:42):
All right number four in this row here.
Omar Brownson (20:46):
All right, so one , two, three, four, holding kind
of finding boundaries and notburning out.
Let's see what Mother Naturehas to say.
Card number 34, represented bythe flower Fox Glove and the
theme of sing what makes yourheart sing?
(21:08):
How does your song want to beexpressed?
So I invite you first to justreally notice the art itself and
just, you know, describe whatyou see in the art before kind
of thinking about the question.
Kate De Palma (21:23):
Oh, it's so beautiful.
I'm not familiar with FoxGloves out in nature per se,
like it's definitely a flowerI've heard of, but if you would
ask me to picture what it lookslike I'm not sure I would have
known.
So just I love the kind ofsimplicity of it, kind of the
tubular nature, it seems, of thepetals and the stock.
(21:44):
It seems very simple but proud.
I like it.
Omar Brownson (21:48):
And as you think about your question around
setting boundaries and notburning out, how does the theme
of seeing what comes up for you?
Kate De Palma (21:58):
Oh, my God, it's so perfect.
What makes your heart sing?
That's all that's what I wastalking about.
What am I passionate about?
What do I love?
How do I keep loving mybusiness, even as I love the
success of it growing andgetting bigger?
And that question of how doesyour song want to be expressed?
I think it's fascinating.
(22:19):
I'm not sure how I have ananswer, but I think it's to be
expressed.
I want my love for my businessto be expressed through it
growing as sustainable, andthat's something I can show off
as, hey look, I've built this,but I've also built this amazing
life alongside of it, becausethat's what's going to make my
heart sing.
It exists, I exist, and it'snot.
(22:42):
We're not taking over eachother's lives.
Omar Brownson (22:46):
I feel like, as I look at the art, it almost has
like an antenna sort of vibe.
It's sort of like looking upand just sort of like, hey,
let's see what's happeningaround me and just orient,
because that's one of thechallenges is that you can be so
focused you don't seeeverything changing around you
(23:07):
or the changes that arehappening within you, and so how
you bring those things intoalignment and maybe that's you
know, I think what I'm hearingis really harmony.
Right To extend the sort ofmusical theme of harmony is like
it's different voices that cancome together, and so what is
(23:28):
the voice of your life, what isthe voice of the business, and
how do they bring harmonytogether?
Kate De Palma (23:36):
Totally.
I love that word harmony forwhat I'm seeking.
That's probably the answer tothat question.
It wants to be expressed inharmony with all the pieces of
my life, all the parts of it.
Belinda Liu (23:50):
And I love how the foxglove pedals.
It always reminds me of amegaphone and you know, when I
look at the word express in theprompt, it what comes to mind is
also amplified.
You know what is the messagethat wants to be amplified, or
the feeling of harmony, or youknow what is the energy that
(24:12):
wants to be expressed beyondeven the tangible thing, because
I love what you said about.
It's not necessarily about thecandle product itself.
It's like the way in whichyou're stewarding this business
and the networks and that you'reweaving together.
That's joyful and and how.
(24:33):
You know the 20 somethingversion of you embarked on that
journey because you were like ismy life complete?
You know if I, just 40 yearsfrom now, you know that was.
You know the classroom was my,my stage, and it sounded like
there was another stage thatneeded to.
You know you needed to stepinto, and so I am curious about
(24:58):
how you're looking at thenetworking or the community
building as it relates to yourbusiness, because I feel like
there is something around youknow, omar, and I talk with
Arlene all the time like what isthe new, the new way of doing
business in a way that is reallyreciprocal, where there is
(25:19):
abundance and what we're findingis it's.
There are more questions thananswers and it's really not easy
to weave with other peopleclearly where it's.
You know the financial exchange, you know it's well defined and
and it works.
You know, I feel like we're allin this kind of emergent
(25:41):
discovery phase.
I'm curious if there are anyclues that you're discovering
that we can learn from and ourcommunity of people who are also
, you know, exploringentrepreneurialism and, you know
, having their own business.
Kate De Palma (25:59):
Well, when I first started the business, I
felt very much like I wasworking by myself at home, not
having this connection withother business owners.
And when I first startedmeeting more people who are also
running businesses, you startto connect with them, usually
over struggles, right, what's?
How can you grow?
(26:20):
You know you need help withsomething.
You're asking for help and Ithink that's just.
The first step is recognizingthat you do need help.
You're not an expert ateverything and that it's okay
and it's only going to.
I like that word you usedabundance.
Bring abundance into yourbusiness and into your life, if
you're, if you're open to it.
So for me, my business wastransformed when a photographer
(26:45):
found me on Google and all of asudden I was making branded
candles for his business.
And then from him I startedmeeting kind of this.
It was a snowball effect ofother business owners I met, I
met my, my product photographerand the makeup artist who's
helped me when I've donespeaking events.
And then this business group Ijoined and you just realized
(27:05):
that there's so many otherpeople out there that, like I
didn't even know groups likethat existed.
I didn't know mastermindsexisted or collectives or
whatever you want to call it.
But once you sort of find them,you've you've found your people
, and I think it's just thinkingabout whatever area you're in
or whatever business you're in,your people are out there, your
(27:28):
network is out there.
You just need to, I guess, beopen to finding them or looking
for them, or being open tounexpected collaborations.
That's often how I think of ofthat very first one, because he
was it was a Boudoirphotographer, which I just
thought was the oddest thing,that I was making candles for
(27:48):
him, for his clients.
But in retrospect it made totalsense because it's all about,
like, confidence and setting,setting the scene and and then
joining.
You know this, this moment ofempowerment, and the candle to
totally fit in.
But I didn't think of that andhe did.
So what are ways that you canenrich other people's business
(28:09):
or ideas you can kind of bringup with them that they went to
thought of, and vice versa.
So it is this, this give andtake.
You're not just there to takeand you're not just there for a
transaction, right?
You mentioned kind of thatfinancial piece of it.
If you look at it as acollaboration and not just a
transaction, there is so muchmore to it than just that.
There's building communitytogether and learning together
(28:32):
and growing and doing thingslike being on Instagram Live and
podcasts, where you're meetingeach other's community.
There's such a level of trustthere that you, for example, are
bringing me in to meet yourpeople.
That says a lot.
I think building connectionsthat way is what's really going
to move the needle in yourbusiness, because it's genuine
(28:55):
and comes from your heart.
If we go back to the card thatI drew, heart comes up.
So you're building connectionsfrom the heart and not just for
the money you would put in yourpocket.
Belinda Liu (29:08):
There's a real clue there, Kate, with the way that
you are so collaborative.
I feel like that's a realstrength, Even when we were
meeting to do a candle handoffand talking about, oh my gosh,
how are we going to dofulfillment for these candles
over the holidays Because theyare a really meaningful gift and
(29:29):
to even be sharing that loadliterally.
Maybe we could do it togetherand figure out a way to
centralize this.
I feel like that is theecosystem is how do you get to
that level of tangible exchange?
That's definitely somethingthat we want to help amplify,
(29:49):
and Omar and I are constantlytrying to figure out an unpack.
What is this gratitudeecosystem really mean?
I feel like there's a clue inhow we're working with you.
Omar Brownson (30:01):
I love that.
Who are your people?
I feel like that's such animportant reminder that that's
who you are here to help serve.
It makes me think of the roomiequote if everything around
seems dark, look again.
You may be the light.
I feel like that's what youknow, and then when you have an
(30:24):
ecosystem of people who aretrying to be the light, that's
how things change.
If there's anything else thatyou would love to share with our
community about either yourjourney or the candles,
otherwise, I'd love to be ableto close this out with the song
(30:47):
Sing from our album.
Kate De Palma (30:52):
I just want to say thank you again for having
me and bringing me into yourecosystem.
I truly am just.
I love the candles we'recreating together for gratitude
blooming, the curated senseselection.
They fit the intentions so, sowell and that was one of the
best things about early on whenwe met Belinda to go over.
(31:13):
We are so careful aboutchoosing the perfect sense and
sense samples and to reallyembody those intentions and just
the pure level ofintentionality that went into
that.
I love it and I can't wait tosee where our collaboration
continues to go, because there'sjust candles and gratitude and
(31:35):
mindfulness just match made inheaven.
So I'm really excited tocontinue to embrace that journey
with you.
Omar Brownson (31:42):
Well, thank you, Kate, for joining us, and you
know, I think that wordembodiment is really it's what
got me into gratitude was like Ihad done meditation and
mindfulness and still do, butgratitude it's like it's in the
body, right, and this is reallythe ecosystem that we're talking
about is like the candle, islike it's something that you can
(32:03):
see, it's something that youcan smell, and the music is
something that you can hear, andso it's just like how do we
create really the environmentthat we want to embody and live
into?
And so I'm excited to now sharethe song Seeing off of the
Garden of Joy album.
Belinda Liu (35:18):
There is how that felt to hear the song of saying
you know, just as a question forour listeners and our viewers,
and also the three of us justhave another layer of connection
with this card.
Kate De Palma (35:36):
It was so peaceful.
I felt calm in the middle of abusy day and I just enjoyed
having a moment listening to the.
I felt like I was sittingoutside in the middle of a
garden and it was just grounding, with the word I thought of.
Omar Brownson (35:57):
It had like almost like a wind chime, like
you could imagine the way thatthe sound was sort of almost
like sprinkling.
He created this like wind chimeor they created this kind of
wind chime sound to it.
Belinda Liu (36:13):
It was interesting.
I've never heard the music inthis way of like processing it,
you know, with these layers, andwhen I had my eyes closed and
hearing it I felt like I wasunderwater and the water was
singing.
It had this kind ofotherworldly watery feel.
So it's kind of interestingthat we all had a different
(36:34):
sensation hearing the song ofsing.
Omar Brownson (36:38):
Yeah, from a garden to wind chime, to sort of
a waterfall of rain.
Well, this is what is beautifulabout the practices is that it
really is an invitation for youand what speaks to you.
There's no right or wrong, it'sjust actually just creating the
space to pause, and so weappreciate you pausing with us
(37:01):
today and we wish our listeners,you know, grace in these times
and invite these very simplepractices.
Just lighting a candle,listening to a song, you know,
reflecting in your journal,whatever practice works for you
is the right one, and you know,and I think anything that we can
(37:22):
do to support that is important.
Belinda Liu (37:25):
And I'd love to offer up, you know, a 10% off
with the promo code of sing inour shop for everyone, as you
are really, you know, trying tofind joy, hope, gratitude during
these times.
And you know I love having thenote cards now to go with the
candles Literally, I'm not ajournaler but I love to reflect,
(37:49):
you know, the candle with thecard and with the song.
So it's just really nice tohave all of these visual
reminders in the space.
So, yeah, offering that up toeveryone that's looking for some
of that inspiration or a nicegift for the holiday season.
Wonderful.
(38:12):
Thank you so much, Kate and ourlisteners.
Cheers.
Hello Belinda.
Belinda Liu (00:14):
Hey.
Omar Brownson (00:14):
Omar, I'm excited to have a guest this week and
you continue to have thisconversation around what are we
lighting up in the world and,you know, what are we bringing
attention to and really, how dowe find those daily practices
(00:35):
that just give us a little bitof hope?
You know, these are just, insome ways, such difficult and
troubling times and I feel likeI've been saying that for a
while now.
You know, when you and I firststarted collaborating during the
pandemic and holding weeklyspaces, and each week it felt
like, oh, some big challenge wasunfolding.
And three years later I feellike we're still in these times,
(01:00):
and so, you know, I think itjust gives even more meaning and
purpose to find these dailypractices.
Like what is it within our owncontrol that can help give us
sort of the self-care and thehealing in the face of, you know
, so much turmoil?
Belinda Liu (01:19):
Thank you for naming that, omar.
I feel like part of our worktogether is about being real
with what's happening in life,and you know, this fall season
is so much about gratitude andabout grief and loss, and you
know, I'm finding myself lookingto nature right now and seeing
(01:43):
these beautiful leaves on thetrees and they're falling to the
ground and so much color, yetso much loss, and it feels like
that's just reflected in what'sgoing on collectively right now.
So, yeah, how do we find thatinner anchor?
And I am so grateful that wehave amazing partners in our
(02:10):
gratitude ecosystem to reallylike lift each other up.
As you know, artist collectiveand a small business, we are
constantly trying to learn fromother small business owners, and
so I'm really delighted tointroduce Kate De Palma of
Scented Designs.
Kate, you are our candle makerof gratitude blooming and it's
(02:36):
so lovely to be able to, youknow, share your magic with our
community.
And so I would love for you tostart by just introducing your
journey, because one of theareas that we've connected on in
our lives has been the factthat we both were classroom
teachers at one point in ourprofessional journeys.
(02:56):
So, yeah, how did you become?
Go from a teacher to havingyour own business?
And and how did you choose thecandle making business?
Kate De Palma (03:08):
Goodness well, hi everyone.
Thanks so much for having meBlenden Omar, so excited to be
here and just having beenbrought into the gratitude
blooming community.
I feel so fortunate to be amongso many wonderful souls and
that's one of the things in myjourney from being a teacher to
being a small business owner.
For me it's been the peoplethat's been kind of driving,
(03:32):
driving me along and helping mefind my way, because I was an
English teacher four years highschool, four years eighth grade,
and candle making was just ahobby.
I picked up at one point becauseI liked being crafty and wanted
to not be on the computer,wanted to be doing something
with my hands, engaging thesenses.
But I didn't know anythingabout running a business.
(03:55):
Even when I launched thebusiness I didn't think I was
starting a business.
It just kind of happened.
I brought candles to a craftfair.
People loved them, they soldand then, you know, after the
holiday rush I kind of realized,whoa, I have a business.
But it wasn't.
It wasn't until I kind ofstarted joining these groups and
meeting other business owners.
(04:16):
That that's what transformedthe business for me from a craft
I did on the side to I'm abusiness owner, and let me see
where that journey takes me, andthat's a journey that I, of
course, continue to be on, andI'm finding new things out every
(04:38):
day.
Omar Brownson (04:40):
I would love to hear a little bit more of that
evolution, right From sort of asteady paycheck as a teacher,
summers off.
My mom is a former elementaryschool teacher, my dad's a
professor, so you know, Iappreciate also just the calling
that that is often inspired by,to really then being a small
(05:02):
business owner and really, youknow, all of a sudden everything
is on you and you know, and youusually you do a craft because
it's just, it's a passion, right.
I was recently a chair, was ina community called Ubuntu
Climate Initiative and we had agathering in Atlanta recently
(05:23):
and the chair of the NEA, theNational Endowment of the Arts,
was there and she talked aboutamateur artists, amateur means
to love, right, and so like it'sa passion.
When it becomes a business, youknow it, it pulls on that
passion in a different way, andso how's that journey and
(05:44):
evolution been for you?
Kate De Palma (05:47):
I come from a family of teachers.
My mom is a preschool teacher,my grandma is a teacher, my
brother is a teacher Just a lotof teachers.
My husband is a teacher.
I met him and there are so manythings to love about teaching
and when I when I kind ofshifted away from that, it was
more just to see what was elsewas out there, because I started
(06:07):
teaching right out of gradschool and you're kind of
looking down, you know your lifeof the next 40 years, and I
kind of had this like oh, I'mnot, I'm not sure I want to be
doing the same thing for 40years, even though the day to
day as a teacher is so different.
You're always dealing withdifferent challenges and things
come up and that's part of whatI loved about it is that no two
(06:27):
days were ever the same.
But just kind of looking downlike, okay, it's this.
I made this decision to become ateacher when I was 21.
What am I going to do with this?
Really, you know the path and Ijust was open to seeing what it
would be like to do somethingelse.
So I left teaching, took someinterior design classes, like
just kind of explored a littlebit.
(06:49):
You know still, I'm still in my20s and I felt that space and I
leaned into that and gavemyself the permission to explore
and, like I said, because thebusiness kind of came out of
just a hobby, that was never theplan.
But when I started doing it Ifound passion in the creation of
(07:09):
something and the creativity ofsetting up a booth for a fair
like you know how do you havethe displays and the signage and
it really appealed to that needfor creativity and color and
textures that I feel like I'vealways had.
I loved scrapbooking as a kidright kind of.
It's all colors and textures.
And then as the businessevolved, I realized that the
(07:34):
part I loved and love now aboutit is very, very different than
when I started to that thatpiece.
You were saying, omar, aboutamateur and I've never heard
that before.
But I love it and I get.
I see the root, the root wordin amateur and it's not the
candle making itself that Inecessarily love anymore Now,
(07:54):
it's the business building, it'sthe networking, it's the
relationship, it's the strategy.
So I've seen that evolution inmyself very much on my journey.
But it's always like where isthat passion for me?
And then I kind of just followthat and I try not to tie myself
down to what I used to loveabout it and I lean into what is
(08:16):
the thing I love now.
Omar Brownson (08:17):
It's good to know that love can evolve right.
Belinda Liu (08:20):
Yeah, this is going to be a good title for the
podcast.
Omar Love can evolve, and whatI appreciate about your story,
kate, is how much of it is aboutyour inner knowing of what do
you need to feel fulfilled orfind meaning, and it's less
(08:41):
about the product and it's moreabout the way in which you get
to the end result, which is thecreativity, the relationship
building like.
Those are all strengths thatI've seen in you as I've gotten
to know you and worked with youover almost a year now, I
believe.
Crazy yeah, yeah, and I wouldlove for us to touch on a little
(09:05):
bit of just like, the magic andthe ritual behind candles.
So, for those of you that arejoining us on YouTube, this is
one of the candles, this is theJoy candle Omar, you've got your
gratitude candle and this isone of four.
(09:25):
We have four different kindsjoy, curiosity, gratitude and
healing and they're allconnected to our gardens.
We have four gardens and notecards that align with those
gardens.
Omar Brownson (09:43):
Music album.
Belinda Liu (09:45):
Yes music just released the Garden of Curiosity
, which, I have to say, it'shard to say to have a favorite,
but this one, the Curiosity onethat just launched for fall, I
just love it.
It's so dynamic and you couldlook at them in one way and say,
wow, these are products, theseare things you can give as gifts
, and it's very meaningful andthey're really beautiful.
(10:08):
But I think behind all of thatis the intention, and so I'd
love for us to talk a little bitabout that.
What is that practice ofcreating an intention and
letting that intention inspirehope, Like you said, omar, at
the beginning?
Omar, what for you, is your wayof creating the intention, and
(10:30):
you've been working with thegratitude candle.
Omar Brownson (10:32):
I'm curious what connections you're making in
your daily life to stay inspiredwas very timely that you asked
Belinda, because just yesterdayI started working with this
Indigenous healer and sheinvited me to really focus on
some ancestral healing and work.
(10:53):
And so she asked me to bring abasil plant, a white candle and
a picture of myself when I was ayounger kid.
And so yesterday she uses thefour directions, so north is the
direction of ancestry, and so Iwas meditating, I lit my
(11:17):
gratitude candle and mygrandmother shared, before she
left, like she wrote a series ofstories like little vignettes
of her life, and one of thevignettes was that she just to
give some context, mygrandmother was born in 1917,
chinese, born in China, and wentto Berkeley and studied
(11:41):
chemistry.
So I can only imagine just likehow sort of pioneering of a
person she was to be able to godo that.
But she had moved down.
Now she's in her early 40s,she's got four young kids, her
husband passed away and she'snow managing this motel on
(12:02):
Venice Boulevard, and so youknow she's just juggling a lot.
And she shares one of thestories where one night a
customer came in and it wasn't acustomer, it was a robber who
had a gun, and so she was robbedat gunpoint of all the money
that she had.
And this was just one moment ofmini where she was like robbed
(12:25):
with a knife.
She was like just some peoplejust straight up, like she
stepped out and then somebodytook all the money and so just
talking about running a smallbusiness right and in such a
very tough environment, and so Ihad that story open, you know,
with the candle lit, and I justmeditated, you know, for the
(12:46):
next 40 minutes of just likeholding compassion for this
woman who had faced so manybarriers and continued to face
so many barriers and challenges,and just she probably never had
the chance to like pause in theway that I was able to pause in
that moment.
And so, you know, and the healerwas just like a white candle is
(13:08):
like we have to bring the lightwherever we can.
And so I just really, you knowand I did not do it knowing that
we were going to be recording apodcast with UK today around
the candle it is beautiful thatthere was just such intention
and that I had one that was notjust any random candle from the
store.
It was like, no, there's a lotof intention behind the theme
(13:33):
and the focus and so, yeah, itwas a very beautiful kind of way
to just pause and recognize thehealing work that is possible
when we create room for it.
Belinda Liu (13:43):
Wow, I know we've talked about your grandmother in
past episodes of this podcastand it's beautiful to honor her
in this particular way because Ididn't realize you know some of
the hardships that sheexperienced in that.
You know just, you know feelingsafe and well, that was the
(14:04):
thing is like.
Omar Brownson (14:04):
at the end of the story she even said like she
was just grateful to be alive,right, that like that she wasn't
harmed, and so, even in theface of that violence, she was
still able to find somegratitude, which was just so
remarkable.
Belinda Liu (14:21):
And so in the summertime I really worked a lot
with the joy candle and and Ifor me, I'm very sensory, like
it's hard for me to write toexpress what I feel.
It's a lot easier for me to,you know, create an experience
around something or be in natureand feel something, and and so
(14:44):
this joy candle I would everymorning, instead of just like
running out of bed making thecoffee, checking my phone, which
sometimes I do, you know, it'slike what's, what do I need to
stay on top of.
Today, I did have this moreintentional practice of every,
every morning, just lighting thecandle, first thing, and just
(15:06):
having that reminder of like,okay, stay in your joy right now
, because you're always beingpulled to do this and that, and
the other thing, especially juststewarding land, having a
retreat center where there's,you know, people you got to take
care of, and summer is like thebiggest, busiest time of year
for us.
So I feel like for me, thedaily practice of having that
(15:30):
reminder was really helpfularound an intention, you know,
knowing that the season of thesummer was going to be hard work
in some ways, but also like,like, come on, remember to play,
remember to have fun, and thenI would literally let that
candle burn for as long as Ineeded that reminder.
(15:50):
And, and for me what was nice islike the smell would percolate
the room.
It was this like, like citrusy,joyful smell.
So even if I couldn't see theflame, I could feel the presence
of the joy.
And yeah, kate, you taught ussomething really important about
candle hygiene which I neverknew about before, which is, you
(16:13):
know, in the first burn you'vegot to let the whole thing burn,
you know, so it doesn't tunneldown.
You can get the most out of thecandle if you really let it
express itself, and I mean, Iwant to say that takes about at
least an hour, would you saylike to get the whole top layer.
Kate De Palma (16:31):
Yeah, at least I think it's about an hour for
every inch diameter of thecandle.
So for these ones we have, it'sgoing to take a good two hours,
maybe more three hours, which Ithink is a good lesson to,
though, right, if we're lettingthe candle as a reminder to
pause and have space in our dayand you know, part of a routine
(16:51):
like the you need to let it burnto get to the edge.
It's just, it's kind of a nicereminder to slow down a little
bit and let it unfold the wayyou know it's supposed to.
Belinda Liu (17:03):
I love that.
Omar, your example is this likereally deep ritual and ceremony
to honor, you know, anintention or a person and mine
is more around, you know, justhaving this like every single
day reminder to like stay joyful.
So I'm curious, as someone whois around candles all the time
(17:24):
and seeing people work with yourcandles, what, what is a
practice that has resonated foryou?
Kate De Palma (17:30):
I love that people will share with me kind
of how they use our candles orwhen they will, and they range
from teacher.
Friends of mine say, yeah, I'llsit, I'll light one in my
classroom at the end of the daybecause it was full of middle
schoolers who went to PE.
I think was sweaty and kind ofgross.
So I light a candle while Igrade papers or a lot of people
(17:50):
will use them as part of theirmorning routine.
I get photos sent to me oftheir journaling in the morning.
So journaling, you know, withtheir coffee or their tea, the
five am, and so I love it.
If people heard of that gettingup at five am and I'm not an
expert, but I was.
A couple of women in my groupwere trying to institute that
(18:11):
practice where you get up at 5am, but you don't start your day
right away.
You actually have space for youknow, some journaling and
intentions, and they would liketheir candle kind of during that
that piece.
A little bit of meditation,yoga I've heard it with people
who practice yoga the light onefor their practice.
So a lot of different things.
(18:32):
For me personally, I lovehaving them in the evening to
just help me settle in afterkind of a busy day of running
around doing all the things.
The candle just sort of remindsme to okay, now is the time to
slow down.
You had a productive day.
It's okay if you didn't finisheverything.
Look like the candle, let'shang out.
And I like the joy one a lottoo.
(18:53):
Felinda, I love how energizingthe citrus is.
So, even though it's likeevening and it's time to settle
in, you know, relax, calm down.
I like that little energy boostbecause it's a good reminder
for me but even though I mightbe really tired from work, that
I don't have to just be a blobin the evening Like now is the
(19:13):
time to engage in a differentway, to make it meaningful time
spent with my family.
Where I do have energy.
It's just a different energy Ican call forth and help me
harness that time and help it bejoyful for my family, where I'm
not just oh my God, I'mexhausted from work.
Omar Brownson (19:31):
That's beautiful.
And just now, as you're kind ofinto this practice of building
a business and you know findingthose moments for your own
self-care, what questions areyou sort of now holding sort of
in this next phase of things?
Kate De Palma (19:50):
I think the question often comes down to how
do I continue to grow thebusiness while maintaining or
even building better boundariesbetween business and my own life
?
So how do I build a sustainablebusiness that continues to
(20:10):
bring me joy and that I continueto love and that doesn't burn
me out?
Omar Brownson (20:15):
No pun intended.
So we love obviously bringingquestions into the gratitude
blooming space and Belinda justpulled up the gratitude blooming
digital card deck.
There's seven rows, six columns, and you know she will scroll
(20:37):
and just invite you to tell herto stop when you want.
Kate De Palma (20:42):
All right number four in this row here.
Omar Brownson (20:46):
All right, so one , two, three, four, holding kind
of finding boundaries and notburning out.
Let's see what Mother Naturehas to say.
Card number 34, represented bythe flower Fox Glove and the
theme of sing what makes yourheart sing?
(21:08):
How does your song want to beexpressed?
So I invite you first to justreally notice the art itself and
just, you know, describe whatyou see in the art before kind
of thinking about the question.
Kate De Palma (21:23):
Oh, it's so beautiful.
I'm not familiar with FoxGloves out in nature per se,
like it's definitely a flowerI've heard of, but if you would
ask me to picture what it lookslike I'm not sure I would have
known.
So just I love the kind ofsimplicity of it, kind of the
tubular nature, it seems, of thepetals and the stock.
(21:44):
It seems very simple but proud.
I like it.
Omar Brownson (21:48):
And as you think about your question around
setting boundaries and notburning out, how does the theme
of seeing what comes up for you?
Kate De Palma (21:58):
Oh, my God, it's so perfect.
What makes your heart sing?
That's all that's what I wastalking about.
What am I passionate about?
What do I love?
How do I keep loving mybusiness, even as I love the
success of it growing andgetting bigger?
And that question of how doesyour song want to be expressed?
I think it's fascinating.
(22:19):
I'm not sure how I have ananswer, but I think it's to be
expressed.
I want my love for my businessto be expressed through it
growing as sustainable, andthat's something I can show off
as, hey look, I've built this,but I've also built this amazing
life alongside of it, becausethat's what's going to make my
heart sing.
It exists, I exist, and it'snot.
(22:42):
We're not taking over eachother's lives.
Omar Brownson (22:46):
I feel like, as I look at the art, it almost has
like an antenna sort of vibe.
It's sort of like looking upand just sort of like, hey,
let's see what's happeningaround me and just orient,
because that's one of thechallenges is that you can be so
focused you don't seeeverything changing around you
(23:07):
or the changes that arehappening within you, and so how
you bring those things intoalignment and maybe that's you
know, I think what I'm hearingis really harmony.
Right To extend the sort ofmusical theme of harmony is like
it's different voices that cancome together, and so what is
(23:28):
the voice of your life, what isthe voice of the business, and
how do they bring harmonytogether?
Kate De Palma (23:36):
Totally.
I love that word harmony forwhat I'm seeking.
That's probably the answer tothat question.
It wants to be expressed inharmony with all the pieces of
my life, all the parts of it.
Belinda Liu (23:50):
And I love how the foxglove pedals.
It always reminds me of amegaphone and you know, when I
look at the word express in theprompt, it what comes to mind is
also amplified.
You know what is the messagethat wants to be amplified, or
the feeling of harmony, or youknow what is the energy that
(24:12):
wants to be expressed beyondeven the tangible thing, because
I love what you said about.
It's not necessarily about thecandle product itself.
It's like the way in whichyou're stewarding this business
and the networks and that you'reweaving together.
That's joyful and and how.
(24:33):
You know the 20 somethingversion of you embarked on that
journey because you were like ismy life complete?
You know if I, just 40 yearsfrom now, you know that was.
You know the classroom was my,my stage, and it sounded like
there was another stage thatneeded to.
You know you needed to stepinto, and so I am curious about
(24:58):
how you're looking at thenetworking or the community
building as it relates to yourbusiness, because I feel like
there is something around youknow, omar, and I talk with
Arlene all the time like what isthe new, the new way of doing
business in a way that is reallyreciprocal, where there is
(25:19):
abundance and what we're findingis it's.
There are more questions thananswers and it's really not easy
to weave with other peopleclearly where it's.
You know the financial exchange, you know it's well defined and
and it works.
You know, I feel like we're allin this kind of emergent
(25:41):
discovery phase.
I'm curious if there are anyclues that you're discovering
that we can learn from and ourcommunity of people who are also
, you know, exploringentrepreneurialism and, you know
, having their own business.
Kate De Palma (25:59):
Well, when I first started the business, I
felt very much like I wasworking by myself at home, not
having this connection withother business owners.
And when I first startedmeeting more people who are also
running businesses, you startto connect with them, usually
over struggles, right, what's?
How can you grow?
(26:20):
You know you need help withsomething.
You're asking for help and Ithink that's just.
The first step is recognizingthat you do need help.
You're not an expert ateverything and that it's okay
and it's only going to.
I like that word you usedabundance.
Bring abundance into yourbusiness and into your life, if
you're, if you're open to it.
So for me, my business wastransformed when a photographer
(26:45):
found me on Google and all of asudden I was making branded
candles for his business.
And then from him I startedmeeting kind of this.
It was a snowball effect ofother business owners I met, I
met my, my product photographerand the makeup artist who's
helped me when I've donespeaking events.
And then this business group Ijoined and you just realized
(27:05):
that there's so many otherpeople out there that, like I
didn't even know groups likethat existed.
I didn't know mastermindsexisted or collectives or
whatever you want to call it.
But once you sort of find them,you've you've found your people
, and I think it's just thinkingabout whatever area you're in
or whatever business you're in,your people are out there, your
(27:28):
network is out there.
You just need to, I guess, beopen to finding them or looking
for them, or being open tounexpected collaborations.
That's often how I think of ofthat very first one, because he
was it was a Boudoirphotographer, which I just
thought was the oddest thing,that I was making candles for
(27:48):
him, for his clients.
But in retrospect it made totalsense because it's all about,
like, confidence and setting,setting the scene and and then
joining.
You know this, this moment ofempowerment, and the candle to
totally fit in.
But I didn't think of that andhe did.
So what are ways that you canenrich other people's business
(28:09):
or ideas you can kind of bringup with them that they went to
thought of, and vice versa.
So it is this, this give andtake.
You're not just there to takeand you're not just there for a
transaction, right?
You mentioned kind of thatfinancial piece of it.
If you look at it as acollaboration and not just a
transaction, there is so muchmore to it than just that.
There's building communitytogether and learning together
(28:32):
and growing and doing thingslike being on Instagram Live and
podcasts, where you're meetingeach other's community.
There's such a level of trustthere that you, for example, are
bringing me in to meet yourpeople.
That says a lot.
I think building connectionsthat way is what's really going
to move the needle in yourbusiness, because it's genuine
(28:55):
and comes from your heart.
If we go back to the card thatI drew, heart comes up.
So you're building connectionsfrom the heart and not just for
the money you would put in yourpocket.
Belinda Liu (29:08):
There's a real clue there, Kate, with the way that
you are so collaborative.
I feel like that's a realstrength, Even when we were
meeting to do a candle handoffand talking about, oh my gosh,
how are we going to dofulfillment for these candles
over the holidays Because theyare a really meaningful gift and
(29:29):
to even be sharing that loadliterally.
Maybe we could do it togetherand figure out a way to
centralize this.
I feel like that is theecosystem is how do you get to
that level of tangible exchange?
That's definitely somethingthat we want to help amplify,
(29:49):
and Omar and I are constantlytrying to figure out an unpack.
What is this gratitudeecosystem really mean?
I feel like there's a clue inhow we're working with you.
Omar Brownson (30:01):
I love that.
Who are your people?
I feel like that's such animportant reminder that that's
who you are here to help serve.
It makes me think of the roomiequote if everything around
seems dark, look again.
You may be the light.
I feel like that's what youknow, and then when you have an
(30:24):
ecosystem of people who aretrying to be the light, that's
how things change.
If there's anything else thatyou would love to share with our
community about either yourjourney or the candles,
otherwise, I'd love to be ableto close this out with the song
(30:47):
Sing from our album.
Kate De Palma (30:52):
I just want to say thank you again for having
me and bringing me into yourecosystem.
I truly am just.
I love the candles we'recreating together for gratitude
blooming, the curated senseselection.
They fit the intentions so, sowell and that was one of the
best things about early on whenwe met Belinda to go over.
(31:13):
We are so careful aboutchoosing the perfect sense and
sense samples and to reallyembody those intentions and just
the pure level ofintentionality that went into
that.
I love it and I can't wait tosee where our collaboration
continues to go, because there'sjust candles and gratitude and
(31:35):
mindfulness just match made inheaven.
So I'm really excited tocontinue to embrace that journey
with you.
Omar Brownson (31:42):
Well, thank you, Kate, for joining us, and you
know, I think that wordembodiment is really it's what
got me into gratitude was like Ihad done meditation and
mindfulness and still do, butgratitude it's like it's in the
body, right, and this is reallythe ecosystem that we're talking
about is like the candle, islike it's something that you can
(32:03):
see, it's something that youcan smell, and the music is
something that you can hear, andso it's just like how do we
create really the environmentthat we want to embody and live
into?
And so I'm excited to now sharethe song Seeing off of the
Garden of Joy album.
Belinda Liu (35:18):
There is how that felt to hear the song of saying
you know, just as a question forour listeners and our viewers,
and also the three of us justhave another layer of connection
with this card.
Kate De Palma (35:36):
It was so peaceful.
I felt calm in the middle of abusy day and I just enjoyed
having a moment listening to the.
I felt like I was sittingoutside in the middle of a
garden and it was just grounding, with the word I thought of.
Omar Brownson (35:57):
It had like almost like a wind chime, like
you could imagine the way thatthe sound was sort of almost
like sprinkling.
He created this like wind chimeor they created this kind of
wind chime sound to it.
Belinda Liu (36:13):
It was interesting.
I've never heard the music inthis way of like processing it,
you know, with these layers, andwhen I had my eyes closed and
hearing it I felt like I wasunderwater and the water was
singing.
It had this kind ofotherworldly watery feel.
So it's kind of interestingthat we all had a different
(36:34):
sensation hearing the song ofsing.
Omar Brownson (36:38):
Yeah, from a garden to wind chime, to sort of
a waterfall of rain.
Well, this is what is beautifulabout the practices is that it
really is an invitation for youand what speaks to you.
There's no right or wrong, it'sjust actually just creating the
space to pause, and so weappreciate you pausing with us
(37:01):
today and we wish our listeners,you know, grace in these times
and invite these very simplepractices.
Just lighting a candle,listening to a song, you know,
reflecting in your journal,whatever practice works for you
is the right one, and you know,and I think anything that we can
(37:22):
do to support that is important.
Belinda Liu (37:25):
And I'd love to offer up, you know, a 10% off
with the promo code of sing inour shop for everyone, as you
are really, you know, trying tofind joy, hope, gratitude during
these times.
And you know I love having thenote cards now to go with the
candles Literally, I'm not ajournaler but I love to reflect,
(37:49):
you know, the candle with thecard and with the song.
So it's just really nice tohave all of these visual
reminders in the space.
So, yeah, offering that up toeveryone that's looking for some
of that inspiration or a nicegift for the holiday season.
Wonderful.
(38:12):
Thank you so much, Kate and ourlisteners.
Cheers.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!