February 2, 2024 • 26 mins
As the seasons begin to change, we find ourselves wrapped in the afterglow of a snowstorm — a perfect time to foster our aspirations and face the hurdles ahead. Join us in a heartwarming journey where we embrace the art of grounding ourselves through meditation, connecting deeply with the earth and our innermost dreams. We'll navigate the ancient philosophy of Wu Wei or effortless action and learn to trust the natural flow of life. With art from Beckie Masaki, we explore the transformative power of story circles within communities like Mending the Arc. Together, we'll reflect on exciting collaborations and the fresh growth they promise, mirroring the renewal we seek in our own lives.
With the brushstrokes of Michael Heiser's "Double Negative" and the silent majesty of a winter forest as our backdrop, we reflect on the profound effects of art and nature on our spirit. Solitude, often a catalyst for creativity, becomes a central theme, inspiring introspection and aligning with our intentions for the year.
We close with the soulful strains of "Sorrow" by Windows Seat as we also look forward to an enriching collaboration with the Democracy Center, continuing to weave a narrative that celebrates the courage found in both love and sorrow.
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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!
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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, it's so lovely to be with you and Arlene
together in studio as wenavigate this year that is
unfolding in front of us.
Omar Brownson (00:25):
It feels like a lot of momentum, which for me
feels good.
I'm loving it.
Belinda Liu (00:33):
Well, we just got our first big winter snowstorm,
so from the land in Mount ShastaI'm getting messages of stay
cozy, stay warm, stay rested andincubate into your dreams.
Arlene, I know that this hasbeen a little bit of a hectic
(00:56):
time for you, with family andeverything.
How is it unfolding?
Arlene Kim Suda (01:04):
Just hoping to keep family members like healthy
and in good spirits.
So yeah, it's definitely beenkind of a rough start.
I think I was ready for aeasier start to the year, but I
guess you don't always get whatyou want.
You get what you need.
Is that how?
Omar Brownson (01:24):
it goes.
I'm feeling this like momentum,stillness and rockiness, all
within the same time.
Belinda Liu (01:34):
And I love that for our listeners and our viewers.
You get to really experience usliving in real time with the
seasons of nature and theseasons of our lives, and those
things oftentimes can be inrhythm, aligned at the same time
, or they can be very differentseasons within us and what's
going on outside of us.
And we were so inspired tostart this year with a practice,
(01:59):
and what I have to share atthis time is just really around
this idea of tending to ourintentions.
We're starting this newbeginning altogether with a lot
of hopes and dreams and wishesand things that we want to
change, things we want toaccomplish, and so I'm going to
really hold us in thismeditation to really be with the
(02:21):
tending of that, knowing thatthis is more of a marathon
rather than a sprint.
So just inviting us to justtake a pause in this moment in
our day and just really making aconnection with our feet to the
ground, no matter what ishappening in life.
(02:43):
This is such a beautiful way toremain connected to the earth,
to find our stable ground, andjust inviting you to breathe
with that awareness, with yourfeet, just receiving energy from
the trees that are all aroundus in different parts of the
(03:06):
world, Breathing that energy inthrough our feet, breathing our
feet soften, with the ground toreceive and exhaling, let go of
(03:28):
any stress or worry, yourtension.
Just for this moment, from thisplace of anchoring, holding your
dreams, your intention for thisyear, how you want to feel,
(03:48):
holding this in your heart, justremembering that, just letting
your feet anchor you in thatdream, understanding what it is
(04:12):
that you really need right nowto tend to yourself and to your
intentions.
Just with each breath, lettingthat be a way to feed you and
(04:32):
nourish you.
You connect in and deepen intoyour feet and your grounding, no
matter how this year unfolds inthe moment, how can you find
(04:54):
stability with the ground inyour feet, anchoring into the
ground Anytime you feel stressedor distracted or off balance?
Just taking a moment to breathein, remembering how you want to
(05:19):
feel in your heart and thatsoft stability in your feet.
And I'm curious, omar andArlene, as you sit with your
intentions around creativity andeffortless action and connect
(05:44):
in with your stability of yourfeet, what is coming up,
regardless of what's happeningaround, what is it that you're
most needing or what is helpingyou remember to tend to your
intentions?
Omar Brownson (06:01):
I love how you always integrate the feet into
your meditations, belinda, andjust that reminder to not just
drop in but drop down and sortof feel the earth holding us,
appreciating gravity kind ofsurrounding us and holding us in
(06:24):
this time.
I am my intention this year ofWu Wei, effortless action and
just really how to trust thatthe harmony is already there and
it's just being present to itand not letting my own sort of
interests, ambitions, wants,desires to sort of disrupt that
(06:46):
harmony that already exists.
And so one of my practices iswith a community of folks called
Mending the Ark, part of theResonance Network, and we just
did story circles and so I'dlove to share them with you all,
and it's a little bit differentthan a Grad II Blooming Card,
(07:09):
but I feel like it has a similarintention of just like how can
we use art to help us reflect onthe stories in our lives.
And I'm not going to read all10 of the circles, but I invite
the three of us to each pick onethat feels resonant for you in
(07:33):
this moment.
And, as you really invited usto connect to the ground, I
really felt this sense ofrenewal.
And so the circle that I like is.
It's a drawing of a tree and ithas the words it's in the world
(07:59):
, renewed, and it's really aboutcreativity and celebrating the
ordinary things that are soextraordinary.
But it has, like, written intiny little words at the bottom
and it says even weathered treesbloom.
And like when I was in Yosemiteand looking up at these giant
(08:23):
sequoias they've been bloomingfor a thousand years and there
was this one sequoia that Ithink it was called like bear
sequoia or something, because itwas just like this big, big
tree and its branches were sothick that they look like trees
(08:44):
growing out of a tree.
And, as I think about, even aweathered tree can bloom.
It's like even the branches ofsomething can be where there's
new growth.
And so I feel like maybeeffortless action in this season
for me is just continuing todeepen down, deepen also with
(09:04):
the roots, recognizing that theroots are just connected with
other people.
And that's part of theeffortlessness is being in
communities, whether it's thiscommunity Gratitude Blooming and
the work that we're doingtogether and the collaboration
we have with the JapaneseAmerican National Museum and the
Center for Democracy in ourEmpathy and Democracy series, or
(09:26):
it's this Mending the Artcommunity that's part of the
Residence Network.
It's like how to find renewaland growth by sort of deepening
the roots and then letting thesebranches, these different
collaborations bloom and kind offun in unexpected ways.
Arlene Kim Suda (09:50):
Well, it's really interesting.
The one that you mentioned,omar, was definitely on my top
two list, and since you alreadypicked that one, it's sort of
very obvious now which one forme stands on, and it was the In
a Seemingly Impenetrable Ravine.
And I have to say why it jumpedout at me is it reminded me of
(10:17):
this famous land work artwork byMichael Heiser called Double
Negative, and it's an actual.
I mean, it sort of looks likethat impenetrable ravine, and so
that's what drew me to that.
I think it's an actual landwork in Nevada somewhere, and to
(10:39):
me it's always been sofascinating because it's like
it's Earth scale, right, it'slike large, and I always saw it
as sort of a real life exampleof negative space.
Like you think that thenegative space is in the drawing
and in the actual earth work isas present as the non-negative
(11:06):
space, and so it's sort ofinteresting that that's the one
I was drawn to visually and then.
But the words feel kind ofscary, don't they?
And in tiny letters.
Omar Brownson (11:19):
On the bottom it says a terrific struggle.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:22):
Right, right.
So this is not for thelighthearted, I think.
Omar Brownson (11:29):
I love that.
For groundedness, you pickedthe one that is almost.
It doesn't show the ground.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:36):
So, it's.
Omar Brownson (11:37):
It is that open space.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:39):
I do sort of feel like 2024 is kind of
starting out like this for me.
It's not like I really don'treally want to struggle, but I
mean, sometimes life just putsyou there.
Belinda Liu (11:52):
And Arlene, what helps you when you're feeling
the struggle or the distractionsthat can come from really
unexpected things.
Nature is very unpredictablesometimes and our lives are too.
Do you have any advice forpeople who are striving to
cultivate more creative sparkthis year and then also feeling
(12:15):
like how you're feeling of, justlike it's really challenging
right now for different reasonsout of your control?
Arlene Kim Suda (12:24):
When I am under a lot of stress, I do seek out
solitude, Like I think solitudeand stillness is.
In some ways it's a way to feedyour creativity.
There's some inner strength inour life that happens in that
stillness that it doesn't feel.
(12:44):
It feels like it feeds thecreativity in a different way,
in a quieter way.
Belinda Liu (12:50):
I'm just loving that there is this metaphor of
art and nature that's verypresent in this community that
you're part of, omar, so I'mappreciating being able to be a
visitor in this moment of yourspace outside of gratitude
blooming, and for me, I'mliterally walking on land daily
(13:11):
and connecting in with the treesand tuning in that way, and it
has been an interesting messagethis week of with my intention
of I just want to be open toreceiving unexpected
opportunities, miracles that arenot within my own planning,
mind or effort, and it does feellike it's more in alignment
(13:35):
with that one that saysconnecting and flowing in
harmony and it there is thiskind of spirally energy of water
or it could be like sound, andI feel like right now with the
creek, it's just going reallyloudly with all the snow that
came and that's been melting, sojust been a lot of change on
(13:55):
the land and even despite allthe big energy of snow, I see
how still the trees are amidstall that movement and I love
that in this visual it's there'sa tiny words that say whomever
hears this melody joins me, andit is very sweet.
(14:19):
I feel like this is what's goingon with the land right now.
It's like really quiet.
The birds have left, the creekis very loud.
Every all the trees seem likethey're just listening to the
water and then every once in awhile you'll hear a snow falling
off the tree and hitting theground.
I feel like I'm a part ofsomething that is very sacred
(14:39):
and special, like to be a partof that kind of winter quiet,
with some soundscapes ofunexpected things.
Omar Brownson (14:49):
I'm really loving to this, like whomever hears
this melody joins me.
I feel like there's somethingvery resonant about like this is
not for everybody, right?
Like not everybody's going tohear the silence in the forest,
right?
Like not everyone's going tohear that thump of the snow
(15:13):
dropping because maybe they aredistracted by other things, and
so it's also just I don't know.
I feel like it's thisinvitation to just trust that
whoever's meant to hear willhear, and it's okay to sort of.
I feel like sometimes we livein a time where it's like more
(15:34):
listeners, more followers, morethis, and it's just like.
No, it's like whomever's meantto hear this is with us and that
is enough.
That is the connecting andflowing in harmony.
So I'd be curious if we were topick a gratitude blooming card
as sort of a counter point tothese beautiful drawings by the
(15:56):
artist Becky Masaki, who is fromthe East Bay, and so I want to
just acknowledge her work.
Belinda Liu (16:03):
Yeah.
So for those of you are thatare listening to this tune that
we're singing, I'd love to hearwhat nature wants to tell us
about tending to our intentionsin this new beginning.
So I'm going to just scrolldown and see if any of you are
(16:26):
called to stop any of these rows.
Arlene Kim Suda (16:31):
I'm kind of feeling something in that center
column where the negative spaceI feel like on the bottom we
should go, we should go, weshould go, we talk about
groundedness.
Belinda Liu (16:40):
I don't know what you're talking about.
A lot of negative space on thisrow.
Omar Brownson (16:47):
Card number 16, touch Me Not, representing the
theme sorrow.
Sorrow can come from thecourage to love, acknowledge the
bravery behind any sorrow younotice or feel For those that
are listening.
We're looking at the Touch MeNot flower, which is like a
white flower with like a red dotin the middle, and there are
(17:12):
four of these flowers that areillustrated, that are kind of
like spread across the card,with leaves kind of interspersed
delicately between them andjust, I don't know, there's a
tenderness to this art andobviously to this theme.
And and you began the podcast,belinda, by saying how do we
(17:35):
tend to our intentions?
Right, and so there's thetending to.
Is this a gentleness?
Right, like sometimes we setthese intentions and maybe
things don't go as we plan, andthen we can be Harsh in our
judgment, right, like, oh, Ididn't do this, I didn't, this
didn't work out the way I wanted, and then, and then that's, I
feel like you move from, yousort of skip sorrow and you go
(17:58):
just straight to pain, right,and and I feel like sorrow sort
of invites a little bit of ofthat Space to just sort of
acknowledge like, hey, I canfeel these things.
I'm watching the Netflix showbrother's son, which is the
Michelle Yao and its classicsort of Chinese mafia, but with
(18:20):
like A different sense of humorand cross culture conversations.
And there's this moment wherethe son of the triad leader he's
this like tough guy and he andhis brother got separated when
they were young and his brothergrew up in LA, he's interested
in improv, he's like in touchwith his emotions, and that
(18:43):
knows nothing about the triadlife that His family's actually
a part of and they're comingtogether for the first time.
And the younger brother islooks at his older brother and
says I see some sadness in you.
And he's like the olderbrother's like no, there's no
sadness.
And he's like yeah, justbecause you have an anesthetic
(19:06):
Doesn't mean you don't feel thepain.
The pain is there, you justYou're just covering it up, and
so I feel like sorrow allows usto feel the pain without
covering it up.
Belinda Liu (19:20):
And, arlene, you have often mentioned that to you
.
This is the love card of thedeck because we don't have a
card that's explicitly on love.
But you know, you see it in theprompt courage to love and I'd
be curious how you would Explainthat connection to love in this
card.
Arlene Kim Suda (19:40):
It's always a little weird to take your own
medicine, but, like sorrow, isthe reminder that, at least for
me, most of the sorrow in mylove, my life, has come from
From love and losing it right.
Whether it's losing it in thepeople that you love or the
things that make you sad, itreally is such a nice reminder
(20:04):
that that sorrow is About loveand about for you, belinda, what
comes up.
Belinda Liu (20:13):
It is edgy to kind of say what you believe in, what
you want to see in the world,what you want for your life, and
that takes a lot of courage andand you have to Hold it with
love.
So I feel like there issomething there for me around
that like the power and thegentleness of this, of this
(20:36):
flower, and it's so gentle andit's in community and it's not
weak in in how it holds itsgentleness.
So there's, it's just reallypotent, that word.
And every time people pick thiscard In all the circles that
were part of it's edgy, it hitsyour heart Like a bullet, just
like in that center pink circlein the middle of the flower.
(20:57):
It's.
It's very, it's very strongreaction that you can kind of
get from this plant and thismessage.
Omar Brownson (21:06):
There can't be community without love.
And when we know that there'sso much loneliness now in the
world and there's so muchdisconnection, and we're in
election cycle year,presidential election cycle year
, and so there's just going tobe so much noise and
divisiveness, things that wantto separate us.
And so how do we both feel someof the sorrow of what's
(21:29):
happening in the world, but alsoacknowledge that, like we feel
that sorrow because we actuallyTrust a deeper belonging, we
trust A deeper harmony, even ifit feels like we're in a ravine
those of us who are in LA.
Belinda Liu (21:49):
We're so excited to have another gathering with the
democracy center on February10th and To really hold space
for the spaceholders and ever inall of the communities that are
at present people that arereally trying to create, tend to
to the community, tend to thehealing that's needed right now
we thought, oh, who's holdingspace for those people?
(22:12):
And so I'm excited thatgratitude blooming will be able
to serve the needs of thespaceholders and community
builders in LA on on February10th and hope some of you will
join.
Us will include that link inthe podcast episode for you to
register.
And, omar, I'd love for us tohear the song of sorrow.
(22:35):
It sounds weird to be like Iwant to hear that song, but I'm
now very curious how Ariel, lowof window seat, expressed this
melody of sorrow.
Omar Brownson (22:48):
And so here we go , sorrow by windows, seat and
gratitude blooming.
Belinda Liu (24:48):
I tried to listen to that song with my feet really
grounded on the earth and itwas yeah, I was like really
captivating to savor every clickof the piano, and I remember in
the podcast episode with himwhen he shared about this
imperfect piano that he foundonline and it was exactly what
(25:10):
he was looking for and and howmuch he loved that piano, and so
it feels like perfect that it'sconnected to the love card of
our gratitude blooming deck.
Omar Brownson (25:23):
So I just got my 2023 Spotify unwrapped which
sort of shows you like whatyou've been listening to, and
the number one artist that Ilistened to in 2023 was Windows
Seat and the top song that Ilistened to from Windows Seat is
this song, sara.
(25:44):
I thought it was beautiful.
Like I was actually surprised.
I know I listened to it a lot,but I didn't realize I was
listening to it that much.
Belinda Liu (25:55):
Wow, it is one of my favorites in the collection
of three albums.
Omar Brownson (26:02):
Well, we appreciate you listening to us
on Spotify.
Apple, please Like Star Review.
We continue to do this as alabor of love and really as part
of our everyday creativepractice, and you know, when we
hear those comments, you send usemails.
Hello at gratitude blooming.
(26:24):
It reminds us, in some ways,why we're doing this right like,
yes, we enjoy the conversationwith each other, but we really
appreciate this growingcommunity and the harmony for
those that hear it.
Belinda Liu (26:35):
Thank you so much, everyone.
Omar Brownson (26:39):
Cheers.
Belinda Liu (26:40):
Cheers.
Hello Belinda.
Belinda Liu (00:14):
Hey, omar, it's so lovely to be with you and Arlene
together in studio as wenavigate this year that is
unfolding in front of us.
Omar Brownson (00:25):
It feels like a lot of momentum, which for me
feels good.
I'm loving it.
Belinda Liu (00:33):
Well, we just got our first big winter snowstorm,
so from the land in Mount ShastaI'm getting messages of stay
cozy, stay warm, stay rested andincubate into your dreams.
Arlene, I know that this hasbeen a little bit of a hectic
(00:56):
time for you, with family andeverything.
How is it unfolding?
Arlene Kim Suda (01:04):
Just hoping to keep family members like healthy
and in good spirits.
So yeah, it's definitely beenkind of a rough start.
I think I was ready for aeasier start to the year, but I
guess you don't always get whatyou want.
You get what you need.
Is that how?
Omar Brownson (01:24):
it goes.
I'm feeling this like momentum,stillness and rockiness, all
within the same time.
Belinda Liu (01:34):
And I love that for our listeners and our viewers.
You get to really experience usliving in real time with the
seasons of nature and theseasons of our lives, and those
things oftentimes can be inrhythm, aligned at the same time
, or they can be very differentseasons within us and what's
going on outside of us.
And we were so inspired tostart this year with a practice,
(01:59):
and what I have to share atthis time is just really around
this idea of tending to ourintentions.
We're starting this newbeginning altogether with a lot
of hopes and dreams and wishesand things that we want to
change, things we want toaccomplish, and so I'm going to
really hold us in thismeditation to really be with the
(02:21):
tending of that, knowing thatthis is more of a marathon
rather than a sprint.
So just inviting us to justtake a pause in this moment in
our day and just really making aconnection with our feet to the
ground, no matter what ishappening in life.
(02:43):
This is such a beautiful way toremain connected to the earth,
to find our stable ground, andjust inviting you to breathe
with that awareness, with yourfeet, just receiving energy from
the trees that are all aroundus in different parts of the
(03:06):
world, Breathing that energy inthrough our feet, breathing our
feet soften, with the ground toreceive and exhaling, let go of
(03:28):
any stress or worry, yourtension.
Just for this moment, from thisplace of anchoring, holding your
dreams, your intention for thisyear, how you want to feel,
(03:48):
holding this in your heart, justremembering that, just letting
your feet anchor you in thatdream, understanding what it is
(04:12):
that you really need right nowto tend to yourself and to your
intentions.
Just with each breath, lettingthat be a way to feed you and
(04:32):
nourish you.
You connect in and deepen intoyour feet and your grounding, no
matter how this year unfolds inthe moment, how can you find
(04:54):
stability with the ground inyour feet, anchoring into the
ground Anytime you feel stressedor distracted or off balance?
Just taking a moment to breathein, remembering how you want to
(05:19):
feel in your heart and thatsoft stability in your feet.
And I'm curious, omar andArlene, as you sit with your
intentions around creativity andeffortless action and connect
(05:44):
in with your stability of yourfeet, what is coming up,
regardless of what's happeningaround, what is it that you're
most needing or what is helpingyou remember to tend to your
intentions?
Omar Brownson (06:01):
I love how you always integrate the feet into
your meditations, belinda, andjust that reminder to not just
drop in but drop down and sortof feel the earth holding us,
appreciating gravity kind ofsurrounding us and holding us in
(06:24):
this time.
I am my intention this year ofWu Wei, effortless action and
just really how to trust thatthe harmony is already there and
it's just being present to itand not letting my own sort of
interests, ambitions, wants,desires to sort of disrupt that
(06:46):
harmony that already exists.
And so one of my practices iswith a community of folks called
Mending the Ark, part of theResonance Network, and we just
did story circles and so I'dlove to share them with you all,
and it's a little bit differentthan a Grad II Blooming Card,
(07:09):
but I feel like it has a similarintention of just like how can
we use art to help us reflect onthe stories in our lives.
And I'm not going to read all10 of the circles, but I invite
the three of us to each pick onethat feels resonant for you in
(07:33):
this moment.
And, as you really invited usto connect to the ground, I
really felt this sense ofrenewal.
And so the circle that I like is.
It's a drawing of a tree and ithas the words it's in the world
(07:59):
, renewed, and it's really aboutcreativity and celebrating the
ordinary things that are soextraordinary.
But it has, like, written intiny little words at the bottom
and it says even weathered treesbloom.
And like when I was in Yosemiteand looking up at these giant
(08:23):
sequoias they've been bloomingfor a thousand years and there
was this one sequoia that Ithink it was called like bear
sequoia or something, because itwas just like this big, big
tree and its branches were sothick that they look like trees
(08:44):
growing out of a tree.
And, as I think about, even aweathered tree can bloom.
It's like even the branches ofsomething can be where there's
new growth.
And so I feel like maybeeffortless action in this season
for me is just continuing todeepen down, deepen also with
(09:04):
the roots, recognizing that theroots are just connected with
other people.
And that's part of theeffortlessness is being in
communities, whether it's thiscommunity Gratitude Blooming and
the work that we're doingtogether and the collaboration
we have with the JapaneseAmerican National Museum and the
Center for Democracy in ourEmpathy and Democracy series, or
(09:26):
it's this Mending the Artcommunity that's part of the
Residence Network.
It's like how to find renewaland growth by sort of deepening
the roots and then letting thesebranches, these different
collaborations bloom and kind offun in unexpected ways.
Arlene Kim Suda (09:50):
Well, it's really interesting.
The one that you mentioned,omar, was definitely on my top
two list, and since you alreadypicked that one, it's sort of
very obvious now which one forme stands on, and it was the In
a Seemingly Impenetrable Ravine.
And I have to say why it jumpedout at me is it reminded me of
(10:17):
this famous land work artwork byMichael Heiser called Double
Negative, and it's an actual.
I mean, it sort of looks likethat impenetrable ravine, and so
that's what drew me to that.
I think it's an actual landwork in Nevada somewhere, and to
(10:39):
me it's always been sofascinating because it's like
it's Earth scale, right, it'slike large, and I always saw it
as sort of a real life exampleof negative space.
Like you think that thenegative space is in the drawing
and in the actual earth work isas present as the non-negative
(11:06):
space, and so it's sort ofinteresting that that's the one
I was drawn to visually and then.
But the words feel kind ofscary, don't they?
And in tiny letters.
Omar Brownson (11:19):
On the bottom it says a terrific struggle.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:22):
Right, right.
So this is not for thelighthearted, I think.
Omar Brownson (11:29):
I love that.
For groundedness, you pickedthe one that is almost.
It doesn't show the ground.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:36):
So, it's.
Omar Brownson (11:37):
It is that open space.
Arlene Kim Suda (11:39):
I do sort of feel like 2024 is kind of
starting out like this for me.
It's not like I really don'treally want to struggle, but I
mean, sometimes life just putsyou there.
Belinda Liu (11:52):
And Arlene, what helps you when you're feeling
the struggle or the distractionsthat can come from really
unexpected things.
Nature is very unpredictablesometimes and our lives are too.
Do you have any advice forpeople who are striving to
cultivate more creative sparkthis year and then also feeling
(12:15):
like how you're feeling of, justlike it's really challenging
right now for different reasonsout of your control?
Arlene Kim Suda (12:24):
When I am under a lot of stress, I do seek out
solitude, Like I think solitudeand stillness is.
In some ways it's a way to feedyour creativity.
There's some inner strength inour life that happens in that
stillness that it doesn't feel.
(12:44):
It feels like it feeds thecreativity in a different way,
in a quieter way.
Belinda Liu (12:50):
I'm just loving that there is this metaphor of
art and nature that's verypresent in this community that
you're part of, omar, so I'mappreciating being able to be a
visitor in this moment of yourspace outside of gratitude
blooming, and for me, I'mliterally walking on land daily
(13:11):
and connecting in with the treesand tuning in that way, and it
has been an interesting messagethis week of with my intention
of I just want to be open toreceiving unexpected
opportunities, miracles that arenot within my own planning,
mind or effort, and it does feellike it's more in alignment
(13:35):
with that one that saysconnecting and flowing in
harmony and it there is thiskind of spirally energy of water
or it could be like sound, andI feel like right now with the
creek, it's just going reallyloudly with all the snow that
came and that's been melting, sojust been a lot of change on
(13:55):
the land and even despite allthe big energy of snow, I see
how still the trees are amidstall that movement and I love
that in this visual it's there'sa tiny words that say whomever
hears this melody joins me, andit is very sweet.
(14:19):
I feel like this is what's goingon with the land right now.
It's like really quiet.
The birds have left, the creekis very loud.
Every all the trees seem likethey're just listening to the
water and then every once in awhile you'll hear a snow falling
off the tree and hitting theground.
I feel like I'm a part ofsomething that is very sacred
(14:39):
and special, like to be a partof that kind of winter quiet,
with some soundscapes ofunexpected things.
Omar Brownson (14:49):
I'm really loving to this, like whomever hears
this melody joins me.
I feel like there's somethingvery resonant about like this is
not for everybody, right?
Like not everybody's going tohear the silence in the forest,
right?
Like not everyone's going tohear that thump of the snow
(15:13):
dropping because maybe they aredistracted by other things, and
so it's also just I don't know.
I feel like it's thisinvitation to just trust that
whoever's meant to hear willhear, and it's okay to sort of.
I feel like sometimes we livein a time where it's like more
(15:34):
listeners, more followers, morethis, and it's just like.
No, it's like whomever's meantto hear this is with us and that
is enough.
That is the connecting andflowing in harmony.
So I'd be curious if we were topick a gratitude blooming card
as sort of a counter point tothese beautiful drawings by the
(15:56):
artist Becky Masaki, who is fromthe East Bay, and so I want to
just acknowledge her work.
Belinda Liu (16:03):
Yeah.
So for those of you are thatare listening to this tune that
we're singing, I'd love to hearwhat nature wants to tell us
about tending to our intentionsin this new beginning.
So I'm going to just scrolldown and see if any of you are
(16:26):
called to stop any of these rows.
Arlene Kim Suda (16:31):
I'm kind of feeling something in that center
column where the negative spaceI feel like on the bottom we
should go, we should go, weshould go, we talk about
groundedness.
Belinda Liu (16:40):
I don't know what you're talking about.
A lot of negative space on thisrow.
Omar Brownson (16:47):
Card number 16, touch Me Not, representing the
theme sorrow.
Sorrow can come from thecourage to love, acknowledge the
bravery behind any sorrow younotice or feel For those that
are listening.
We're looking at the Touch MeNot flower, which is like a
white flower with like a red dotin the middle, and there are
(17:12):
four of these flowers that areillustrated, that are kind of
like spread across the card,with leaves kind of interspersed
delicately between them andjust, I don't know, there's a
tenderness to this art andobviously to this theme.
And and you began the podcast,belinda, by saying how do we
(17:35):
tend to our intentions?
Right, and so there's thetending to.
Is this a gentleness?
Right, like sometimes we setthese intentions and maybe
things don't go as we plan, andthen we can be Harsh in our
judgment, right, like, oh, Ididn't do this, I didn't, this
didn't work out the way I wanted, and then, and then that's, I
feel like you move from, yousort of skip sorrow and you go
(17:58):
just straight to pain, right,and and I feel like sorrow sort
of invites a little bit of ofthat Space to just sort of
acknowledge like, hey, I canfeel these things.
I'm watching the Netflix showbrother's son, which is the
Michelle Yao and its classicsort of Chinese mafia, but with
(18:20):
like A different sense of humorand cross culture conversations.
And there's this moment wherethe son of the triad leader he's
this like tough guy and he andhis brother got separated when
they were young and his brothergrew up in LA, he's interested
in improv, he's like in touchwith his emotions, and that
(18:43):
knows nothing about the triadlife that His family's actually
a part of and they're comingtogether for the first time.
And the younger brother islooks at his older brother and
says I see some sadness in you.
And he's like the olderbrother's like no, there's no
sadness.
And he's like yeah, justbecause you have an anesthetic
(19:06):
Doesn't mean you don't feel thepain.
The pain is there, you justYou're just covering it up, and
so I feel like sorrow allows usto feel the pain without
covering it up.
Belinda Liu (19:20):
And, arlene, you have often mentioned that to you
.
This is the love card of thedeck because we don't have a
card that's explicitly on love.
But you know, you see it in theprompt courage to love and I'd
be curious how you would Explainthat connection to love in this
card.
Arlene Kim Suda (19:40):
It's always a little weird to take your own
medicine, but, like sorrow, isthe reminder that, at least for
me, most of the sorrow in mylove, my life, has come from
From love and losing it right.
Whether it's losing it in thepeople that you love or the
things that make you sad, itreally is such a nice reminder
(20:04):
that that sorrow is About loveand about for you, belinda, what
comes up.
Belinda Liu (20:13):
It is edgy to kind of say what you believe in, what
you want to see in the world,what you want for your life, and
that takes a lot of courage andand you have to Hold it with
love.
So I feel like there issomething there for me around
that like the power and thegentleness of this, of this
(20:36):
flower, and it's so gentle andit's in community and it's not
weak in in how it holds itsgentleness.
So there's, it's just reallypotent, that word.
And every time people pick thiscard In all the circles that
were part of it's edgy, it hitsyour heart Like a bullet, just
like in that center pink circlein the middle of the flower.
(20:57):
It's.
It's very, it's very strongreaction that you can kind of
get from this plant and thismessage.
Omar Brownson (21:06):
There can't be community without love.
And when we know that there'sso much loneliness now in the
world and there's so muchdisconnection, and we're in
election cycle year,presidential election cycle year
, and so there's just going tobe so much noise and
divisiveness, things that wantto separate us.
And so how do we both feel someof the sorrow of what's
(21:29):
happening in the world, but alsoacknowledge that, like we feel
that sorrow because we actuallyTrust a deeper belonging, we
trust A deeper harmony, even ifit feels like we're in a ravine
those of us who are in LA.
Belinda Liu (21:49):
We're so excited to have another gathering with the
democracy center on February10th and To really hold space
for the spaceholders and ever inall of the communities that are
at present people that arereally trying to create, tend to
to the community, tend to thehealing that's needed right now
we thought, oh, who's holdingspace for those people?
(22:12):
And so I'm excited thatgratitude blooming will be able
to serve the needs of thespaceholders and community
builders in LA on on February10th and hope some of you will
join.
Us will include that link inthe podcast episode for you to
register.
And, omar, I'd love for us tohear the song of sorrow.
(22:35):
It sounds weird to be like Iwant to hear that song, but I'm
now very curious how Ariel, lowof window seat, expressed this
melody of sorrow.
Omar Brownson (22:48):
And so here we go , sorrow by windows, seat and
gratitude blooming.
Belinda Liu (24:48):
I tried to listen to that song with my feet really
grounded on the earth and itwas yeah, I was like really
captivating to savor every clickof the piano, and I remember in
the podcast episode with himwhen he shared about this
imperfect piano that he foundonline and it was exactly what
(25:10):
he was looking for and and howmuch he loved that piano, and so
it feels like perfect that it'sconnected to the love card of
our gratitude blooming deck.
Omar Brownson (25:23):
So I just got my 2023 Spotify unwrapped which
sort of shows you like whatyou've been listening to, and
the number one artist that Ilistened to in 2023 was Windows
Seat and the top song that Ilistened to from Windows Seat is
this song, sara.
(25:44):
I thought it was beautiful.
Like I was actually surprised.
I know I listened to it a lot,but I didn't realize I was
listening to it that much.
Belinda Liu (25:55):
Wow, it is one of my favorites in the collection
of three albums.
Omar Brownson (26:02):
Well, we appreciate you listening to us
on Spotify.
Apple, please Like Star Review.
We continue to do this as alabor of love and really as part
of our everyday creativepractice, and you know, when we
hear those comments, you send usemails.
Hello at gratitude blooming.
(26:24):
It reminds us, in some ways,why we're doing this right like,
yes, we enjoy the conversationwith each other, but we really
appreciate this growingcommunity and the harmony for
those that hear it.
Belinda Liu (26:35):
Thank you so much, everyone.
Omar Brownson (26:39):
Cheers.
Belinda Liu (26:40):
Cheers.
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