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April 13, 2025 38 mins

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Our conversations with our children often reveal surprising insights about how they view the world and their place in it – especially when growing up in a single-parent household. 

• Growing up with one parent creates a unique perspective where children recognize something is absent but can't always articulate what it is
• When asked what was missing in his life, the answer wasn't about family structure but rather: "I really want a tortoise named Eugene"
• Today's teenagers display remarkable awareness of global events and conflicts that receive minimal media coverage
• Young people bring fresh perspectives on history and politics, viewing world events through a different lens than their parents
• Single-parent households don't need to be viewed through a deficit lens but can be recognized as valid family structures
• The quality of communication between parent and child matters more than the number of parents in the home
• Our individual hearts have to heal for our communities to heal – personal growth affects our collective wellbeing
• Sometimes wisdom comes in unexpected forms – like learning to do a front flip because "it gives you confidence"

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate the show and share it with a friend who might benefit from hearing these perspectives on single parenting and raising thoughtful children in today's complex world.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In today's episode it's a fireside chat with my
13-year-old son, leland.
I'm excited to bring him on theshow.
We learn his view of what it isto be in a single-parent
household.
We also learn about his viewsaround history and politics,
because he's a big history buff.
We also learn what's missingwhat's missing in this

(00:22):
single-parent household.
You'll be surprised what it is.
Welcome back to the intuitivementor mom podcast, where we
explore strategies forpracticing more self love,
gratitude and finding new waysto empower ourselves in this
ever changing healing adventureof life happening for us.
I'm your host, tara, michelle,let's get started.
Thanks for being on the show.

(00:43):
You want to introduce who youare.
I'm your host.
Tara, michelle, let's getstarted.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Thanks for being on the show you want to introduce
who you are.
Should I say my full name?
Yeah, just say your first name.
Oh, my name is Leland and I'mturning 14 soon and I'm 13 right
now.
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Nice, so I wanted to have you on the show One.
I think you're amazing.
You're my son, this is my son,everybody Wow.
I think that you are really anincredible soul, an incredible
person, and over the last fewyears I've been watching you
really grow and shift and change.
But one of the things I wantedto do was bring you on because,

(01:28):
as a single parent, you're oneof the biggest parts of my life.
You are the light of my life.
What has been your perspective?
What has been your experiencegrowing up in a single parent
household?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
What has been your experience growing up in a
single parent household.
You lack a certain father.
You lack it's not even just afather figure, you just lack a
certain parental figure,depending on which one you have
a single father, a single motheror you just lack that parental
figure, and it makes itdifficult at times.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, when you say lack, you know, given that you
don't even know what it would belike, right to have somebody
here.
We don't even know what thatwould be like.
Yeah, you're going to misssomething that you never had.
Yeah, yeah, because I mean,when we think about the journey
with your dad was when you werea year old.
He was home for a little bitBefore I gained consciousness.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Well, you had consciousness.
Whenever you're a baby, you'retrying to just like, like you
don't really think much.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Well, you think a lot , but you don't remember those
memories, you don't rememberanything.
Yeah, you don't remember thosememories.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
I must remember pushing cars downstairs.
Pushing cars downstairs, Iremember.
This is one distinct memory.
I was at his house in phoenixand I remember just pushing cars
downstairs.
Yeah, that's all I rememberokay, I remember that.
I remember you telling me aboutthat yeah, where I just would
like push cars and then we wouldpush cars down the floor.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's all I really remember so when you say you're
lacking a parent, say more aboutthat.
Say more about what the feelingis of what the lack is, what
you feel you're lacking, likeit's just not there.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
You just have one parent.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
What would you want to have there?
What do you think it would belike if there was another person
there?

Speaker 3 (03:24):
I don't know, because I've never really had one.
What is it that you would liketo have there?

Speaker 1 (03:26):
what do you think it would be like if there was
another person there?
I don't know, because I'venever really had one.
What is it that you would liketo have there?

Speaker 3 (03:31):
I'm not really sure if I'm gonna be completely
honest.
I don't know yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
I remember growing up because my dad was not there
either, and for it always feltlike there was something missing
, but I didn't know what it was.
Yeah.
Yeah, and then when I did getto see him, it was such a
monumental moment.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, but then those moments were so fleeting and
short.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
I mean, I don't think I've seen my dad in person
since like fifth grade.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Has it been that long ?

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, it was in 2022.
I remember.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Wow, it's a long time , yeah, and we're not going to
nothing, to bad mouth.
There just is what it is Right,but it's sad and okay.
So, with life happening for us,you know, I look back at when
my situation with my dad, youknow.

(04:33):
Looking back now today, I askmyself well, what are the things
that I gained as a result ofhim not being around?
And there was a lot of thingsthat I felt that I was missing,
that he wasn't around, but I dobelieve there was this
independence or this confidencewithin that I gained, being able
to just stand up on my own twofeet and take charge of my life

(04:57):
in a way that I had to, you know.
But when you look at it fromthe perspective of what are the,
what are the plus sides aboutyour life right now, as in
parenting, or just plus sides ingeneral.
Both, whatever you'd like toshare.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
I don't really have much insight about about any
pluses of having a single parent, since I don't really know any
off the top of my head.
And then for life in general,uh, not being homeless, not
being an orphan, being able toeat food and drink water, that's

(05:42):
pretty good.
Yeah, that's pretty good whenyour luxuries that some people
just simply do not have yeah,absolutely when you.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
You said you don't know too many single parents no,
I don't know any pluses ofhaving a single parent oh, you
don't have any pluses, yeah I'mnot really sure yeah, that makes
sense, because we don't knowwell, yeah, it's generally
considered more of a bad thing Iknow why do you think?

Speaker 3 (06:06):
that is I'm not really sure.
It's just, I think, because ofhow society's been built over
all the years, that it's madedefault that you have multiple
parents.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
You have two and then if you don't, then you're, then
you're missing something.
Yeah, do you?
Okay?
So that brings up a reallyinteresting question to me what
do you think is we know that, weknow that the other parent is a
missing having your dad nothere as a missing but when you
look at your life overall, isthere anything that you're

(06:37):
missing in your life?
Just in general, just ingeneral.
But when you look around atyour life, like, is there
anything missing?
Like we have a home, we have anice home, we do a lot of things
with friends, like, do youthink there's a missing Aside

(07:00):
from your dad being missing?
I know a really big one.
Yeah, what's a big one?
I really want a tortoise, youreally want a big one, I really
want a tortoise.
You really want a tortoise, Ireally want a tortoise.
So what's missing is having atortoise.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yeah, I want a tortoise.
I want a big tortoise namedEugene.
A big tortoise named Eugene.
Yeah, I want a tortoise, but wecan't have one because it'll
just dig out of our fence.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
We might be able to have one.
That would be something we'dhave to work on.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
I'd love to have a tortoise.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
But from the material standpoint, have we missed
anything throughout our life?
Material standpoint.
Yeah, like we've always had aroof over our head.
I mean, you know, I think whatI'm trying to get at is that
piece about how we put a bigemphasis on the importance of

(07:53):
having two people in thehousehold, but yet there's so
many people in the world thatonly have one person in the
household.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
As in parents, or just people in general.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yep as in parents and , from what I've seen, are kids
more balanced when there's twoparents in the household?
Maybe, but what if the singleparents were also doing a pretty
good job of trying to keep youguys balanced as well?

(08:25):
You know what I mean.
Like the context of life has itthat you know this is bad if
there's not two people in thehousehold.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
They're going to grow up a certain way.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, yeah.
Do you believe in that?

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Not really.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yeah, I don't know that I do either.

Speaker 3 (08:43):
Okay, so when we did have a second person in the
household.
How did that go?
It wasn't horrible, it wasn'tthe best.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
What part wasn't good about it?
I was kind of a shithead.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Oh really, Is that how you see it I?

Speaker 3 (09:02):
was a brat.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Is that how you see it I?

Speaker 3 (09:04):
was pretty annoying.
I saw the video.
I was pretty annoying.
What video the video that youshowed us, where I was just
being annoying.
Oh, the YouTube video.
Yes, I was being annoying.
When I was a kid, I soundedlike one of the kids from the
Peanuts.
That was so cute and funny, Iknow, but I could just tell that

(09:24):
I wasn't the best way.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
Oh really, yeah, that's interesting that you see
it that way.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
I mean, I personally think, thought that I was being
a bit annoying.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I would say he would probably think the same
about himself, because he Iwould say you're the adult and
he'd say sorry, I'm 12.
He'd always say that I'm 12,tara.
I bet you guys would both lookback and see it very differently
today.
But yeah, do you think thingswere better as in balanced or do

(09:58):
you feel it was this the same?

Speaker 3 (10:00):
It was pretty similar .
The same.

Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, it was relatively similar so all right,
we're gonna switch gears.
Let's talk politics.
You want to talk?

Speaker 3 (10:14):
politics.
I mean, sure, but I mean Idon't think that my insight is
extremely important, because Iwon't be able to vote for like
the next five years and then Iwon't be able to make it to the
next election for like anotherthree years, because at the time
that you, yes, yes, I'mliterally not going to be able
to vote until I can drink.
I'm not going to be able tovote until I can drink how do

(10:35):
you feel about that?
I'm not going to be able to votefor, like a presidential
candidate of the united statesof america how do?
You feel about that, to voicemy opinion better, because I

(11:02):
won't sound like a little kidjust spouting what he hears
everywhere.
And that's why I also don'tlike whenever other people my
age or younger or a bit oldertalk about politics is like this
doesn't extreme, this doesn'treally affect you, because
you're not going to be able tovote for like another 10 to like
seven, 10 to like four years.

(11:23):
Yeah.
Do you think that it affectsyour future, it, what part of it
, I mean, like what part of itaffects your future?

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Great question.
So actually this is a greatsegue for really the episode
that I wanted to talk about,which I may still talk about
next.
What I find interesting, and Iwould love to hear your thoughts
and opinion about it, is whenyou go out into the world today,
most people are like oh, didyou see what Trump did?

(11:54):
Now, oh, trump, this Trump,that Trump, this see is that
media does a good job of puttingheadlines out there or bits and
pieces of a story to geteverybody riled and upset about
something.
So then their day-to-dayconversation in the now moment

(12:19):
is figuring out how to makeTrump or anybody who's in the
presidential cabinet wrong.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
Even if they're like part of their side.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yeah, like everybody is just out angry about
everything that's happeninginstead.
Yeah, instead.
And here's how I look at this,and I'm so curious your thoughts
.
If you want to make Trump wrongin his cabinet, or if you want
to make Biden and his cabinetwrong, or if you want to make
Obama and his cabinet wrong Ijust recently had this aha

(12:54):
moment you have to go all theway back to 1913, when the
Federal Reserve was actuallyimplemented.
How much we're like what?
$38 trillion in debt right now,something to that effect.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
I think it's like $33 trillion.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yes, okay, that didn't happen in the last 10
years, right?

Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, I mean, our debt has been building since the
Revolutionary War.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah, and when the Federal Reserve was put in in
1913, which is backed by acertain group of people.
So I guess what I'm trying tosay is that if people want to
have something to complain about, you have to go all the way
back to the root cause, thestart of the story, and then you
have to look at all the thingsthat happened between then and

(13:43):
now, and it's one big giantsnowball right Of one impact
after another impact, of onecabinet making choices and
another cabinet making choiceson top of those choices, on top
of those choices.
To now, here we are, however,many hundreds of years later,
right, and everyone thinks Trumpdid it, biden did it, obama did

(14:09):
it.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
George W Bush.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, there's what am I trying to get at?
It is so much bigger than that.
My whole point is when we wasteour time being angry at the
cabinet that's currently inoffice.
It is a waste of our timebecause it is a machine that is

(14:34):
so much bigger than us that hasbeen broken for so much longer.
I don't know the answers to fixit, but what I believe is that
when we spend our time angrypointing fingers, we actually
add more to the problem insteadof being for the solution.
So I'm curious your thoughts onthat.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
I know that there were some presidents that would
take away a ton of national debt, like I believe I think it was.
Thomas Jefferson will only needlike a third of national debt
and I'm pretty sure in the next10 years it got doubled so that
it was just effectivelypointless.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
Right, because the other cabinet probably said he's
doing it wrong and then came in, implemented their thing.
And then what did we end up?
Right back in the same place.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
With more yes, and I believe back then it was around.
It was around like 500 billion,which nowadays is like a lot of
money, because I was this.
That was the late 1700s.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
It's wild, right?
It's amazing to me.
So tell me your thoughts as a13 year old, going to be 14.
Tell me your thoughts on theworldview and politics.
Like you know, I've alwayspushed you to be a critical
thinker.
Do your research.
Don't just follow what Ibelieve.
You go out and do your research.
What have you come to learn andbelieve today in your viewpoint
?

(15:51):
Like based on like what peopleagree with and disagree with no,
based on your true thoughts andopinions about politics and the
world that you live in and howyou view it.
How do you view it?
It's crazy which part a lot ofit what, what, what occurs crazy

(16:12):
to you or say more about thateither the blatant ignorance or
over-awareness of globaltensions rising.
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3 (16:25):
Like at this point, I do think that something could
happen.
It's not guaranteed and it'snot like a whole Fallout World
War III type scenario, but thereare definitely a lot of
conflicts happening right nowthat are concerning Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
And there are some that people in the United States
just don't know about is, in athought form, that being aware
of everything on the globebecause we have social media now
is actually a detriment to us,because it puts us in a state of
overwhelm and it has usstressed out about a bunch of

(17:13):
things that we can't control andtakes us away from the very
thing that we can't control,which is our own personal life.
What's your thought on that?
From the very thing that wecan't control, which is our own
personal life.

Speaker 3 (17:22):
What's your thought on that?
I mean, I disagree with that.
I think it's better to knoweverything that's happening so
you can have enough awareness toknow that the world isn't
perfect right now, but also toacknowledge the fact that
something is wrong and that youneed to do something about it.
I don't think that you shouldstress yourself out about that,
because or at least how peoplestress themselves out about that

(17:45):
I don't think that that isfully necessary.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
How do you think people could not stress
themselves out about it?

Speaker 3 (17:54):
I mean most likely.
I mean most likely by, justlike I'm not really sure,
because the more you look at thenegativity of it, the more
stressful it gets.
Right.
But then you only focus on afew things and not everything.
Because if you're going tofocus on oh the world is

(18:15):
collapsing around me, I need tohelp.
You can't just focus on onespot.
You need to try and also, ifyou want to, you could raise
awareness and then also bringmore people to rally up and help
others.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
That goes back to my belief that if people allowed
themselves to unplug from mediasuch that they're able to plug
into what's the most importantthing that I can do right now,
that would make a difference formy friends and my family and my
community right here, right now.

(18:52):
Do you feel that being totallyentrenched in all the world news
and being stressed out about it, do you think that impacts your
friends and family on apositive note?

Speaker 3 (19:08):
It could impact your friends and family, depending on
where they come from and whothey are.

Speaker 1 (19:13):
But I mean you being like oh my God, like if you're
in that energy.
Is that impacting?
I'm curious, do you feel that'simpacting your world positively
?

Speaker 3 (19:24):
I don't think so, but also the way that I see it is
like I'll see ongoing conflictsthat I literally never even knew
about, just because nobody inthe news reports it.
They only report the thingsthat are important to America,
like did you know that Myanmaris having a revolutionary civil
war right now?

Speaker 1 (19:40):
I heard a touch of it .

Speaker 3 (19:41):
Yeah, there's a big conflict war right now.
I heard a touch of it.
Yeah, there's a big conflictgoing in there.
There's Libya.
There's a large conflict goingon in there.
On the coast up in Tripoli andEthiopia there's a major ongoing
conflict.
Also can I say something?
Yeah.
Ukraine is said to be like oh,this is a really big deal.
But in 2022, one of the biggestparts of the Ukraine war

(20:04):
Ethiopia had a higher deathcount and I believe it was
around 100,000 people.
No, I think it reached around amillion.
I'm not sure.
I'll have to check my sourceson that but Ethiopia surpassed
that and then people were onlycovering Ukraine.
Nobody acknowledged it.
I remember back then.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
So you raise a great point, and this is what I'm
talking about is that how do youbring awareness?
Okay, how would you take allthat information, cause there's
nothing, okay?
Well, there's two pieces.
So I believe you don't have tobelieve this.

(20:46):
I believe that we're witnessingrevolutionary wars all over
because it's a revolutionhappening right now on the globe
, because we actually have aglobal government.
We don't have a countrygovernment, because all the
governments, in my opinion, areall in everybody's, they're all
in each other's back pocket,right, and the minions are us,

(21:08):
the minions are the people.
So there's that, and as a resultof, and how I would use an
example of that would be COVID,because that was a global
shutdown, right, it wasn't justa shutdown in America, it was a
global shutdown.
So there's a global awakeningoccurring and so a revolution is

(21:29):
going to happen, right, likethat's obvious, right?
Well, I don't know about, youdon't have to agree, but that's
how I feel.
That's obvious, in my opinion.
With your awareness of knowingall those things, what would be
things that you would do toimplement positive impacts into

(21:52):
your community, with theawareness of that information?
How would you go about that?

Speaker 3 (22:00):
So what you're asking is how can me knowing all this
help me build my community abetter place?
Yes, yeah, just knowing that Ifeel like, just knowing that
you're more fortunate and thatyou aren't involved in this
could also be a good factor tohelp you de-stress in a way do

(22:21):
you know?

Speaker 1 (22:21):
what I'm saying no, explain that because I don't
know that.

Speaker 3 (22:25):
I know that you know, like knowing that you're
fortunate enough to not becaught in a massive civil
conflict and that you that youwouldn't just be another one of
the numbers on the charts?
Yes, okay, that's relieving toyou.
To me it is knowing that whereI live is fortunate enough to
have no major ongoing conflicts.
And the United States isinvolved in conflicts, but it

(22:47):
doesn't always affect UnitedStates citizens the way that it
does for other citizens of othercountries.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
We haven't happened to live in those types of cities
.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
Because there are cities that definitely have
civil unrest in our country butwe haven't lived there.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
We live in one of the safer places.

Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, yeah, we do Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
Because the United States harbors some of the most
dangerous cities in the world.

Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yes, 100%.
Do you think Americans believethat?

Speaker 3 (23:16):
No, no.
Something that I've noticed isthat Americans have, like this
isolationist belief that, likethey ignore everything, like do
you know something crazy thathappened while I was talking to
my friends earlier.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Tell me.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
I was like oh yeah, we were talking about other
languages and I said, oh yeah,you have an accent.
They're like no, we don't.
And I said, yes, you do, youhave an American accent.
They accent.
They're like no, we don't.
And I said, yes, you do, youhave an american accent.
They're like no, we don't.
Yet, yes, you do, and it waskind of a back and forth like,
but I thought that that was justthe normal way that you talk.
No, that's the way thatamericans talk, because that's
how old english from britain hasevolved into american english

(24:01):
and you notice, and you'llnotice, how Australian English,
united Kingdom English and NewZealand, india, all other places
that speak English widely theyall have very different words.
They'll have different ways ofdescribing things, how Britain
uses different words that soundmore fancy to Americans.
And then Australians will soundcrazy to Americans, and then

(24:24):
Americans will sound crazy toeverybody else.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
I was walking when I had dinner with Kelly the other
night.
We were on the square and wewalked by a guy who had a very
strong Irish accent and I was inlove with it.
Like that is it Cogni Cogni.
I don't, I don't know where, Idon't know what part of Ireland,
but it was strong, it was sothick that you could barely

(24:48):
understand him and I loved it.

Speaker 3 (24:49):
But then people in Ireland will be able to
understand him perfectly.
Yes, yeah.
It's like how a New Yorkercould go to like the United
Kingdom, and they'll be likewhat?
Are you saying?

Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yeah, that's funny.
Anything else you want to shareabout history or politics
Because you're such a historybuff, which I think is so super
cool Because I was so not intohistory.
I love that you are.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
I'm very into history , I love history.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
I know Anything more you want to share about that?

Speaker 3 (25:15):
Like about what time period?

Speaker 1 (25:18):
Because it depends what's your favorite time period
because that is like it depends.

Speaker 3 (25:20):
What's your favorite time period?
My favorite time period isprobably in between the years.
The ones that I'm best versedin are definitely from like 1000
bc to like 1500.
Those are my favorites why, it'sjust interesting learning about
how people evolved from likethe greeks, the greeks going to

(25:43):
like the mongolian empire I likethe mongolian empire it's
interesting to learn about andhow they were just able to go
from a small place in the middleof the gobi desert and then
they went up north into siberia,where they would then go on to
make this to build the secondlargest empire in the world
which is pretty phenomenal in aspan of like fifth, in the span

(26:06):
of like 20 years yeah in a veryshort span yeah but it's very,
it was very interesting to learnabout.
And then also the romans werevery interesting to learn about
because they they were massiveconquerors.
Julius caesar was one of thebest conquerors in history what
makes him one of the bestconquerors it was primarily the

(26:28):
fact that his conquests were hadsuch a high success rate and
that he was able to develop theroman empire into just a
city-state a few hundred yearsearlier, all the way into a
massive Europe and North Africaand Middle Eastern spanning
empire.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Yeah, oh.
I have a question for you.
What is it, this passion forJapan?
Where did this evolve from?
Where did this come from?

Speaker 3 (26:56):
I don't really know, I just like Japan.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, and you want to move there.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yeah, I just want to go to Japan.

Speaker 1 (27:01):
So you don't think there is no influence?
Is it anime influence?
Is it godzilla influence?

Speaker 3 (27:06):
like I, think it's a mixture of just everything that
I've seen what about it?

Speaker 1 (27:09):
fascinates you?

Speaker 3 (27:11):
I just want to go to argentina yeah yeah, that place
looks cool yeah, patagonia, thedinosaurs that's the only reason
I really, that's the only thingI really know about argentina
yep, what questions you want toask me?

Speaker 1 (27:28):
what do you want to know?

Speaker 3 (27:30):
what do you think about history?

Speaker 1 (27:33):
well, ask me um what do I think about history?
How, what, what part?
What, what part are you asking?

Speaker 3 (27:39):
well, I mean like more recent history, because I
know that recently, because myenglish language arts class, I
learned more about the holocaustand also world war ii so it was
really interesting to learnabout what happened back then
and how also the word holocaustoriginally meant burn, but now
it has a completely newdefinition from one string of

(27:59):
events that I believe went onfrom 1937 to 1945.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
What is the new definition?

Speaker 3 (28:08):
The new definition is a mass genocide of a group of
people or individuals.
I believe that.
Have checked that.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
And originally it was called burn.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
It just meant burn, burn.
And that's also partially areference to how they would burn
the bodies at the concentrationcamps.
Okay, so Holocaust's newdefinition is destruction or
slaughter on a mass scale,especially caused by fire or
nuclear war.
That's the new definition.

Speaker 1 (28:38):
When before it was just burn.

Speaker 3 (28:40):
It just meant burn or to or to put something on fire
interesting.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
So what's your question for me again?

Speaker 3 (28:49):
what are your, what's your perspective on history?

Speaker 1 (28:52):
what's my perspective ?
Um, it's interesting that youasked that and it's interesting.
So when I was in school, I hadsome of the most boring history
teachers so I had no desire inhistory because it was like
paint drying on walls, like itwas so boring, and I can't even

(29:16):
think of a single historyteacher that I was like oh, I
like history because of thatteacher.
Like nobody hated it.
Think of all my historyteachers.
The funny thing is is is myperspective on history?
Um, I actually love historyfrom the perspective that I look

(29:39):
at it, from the perspectivethat I view it through my
self-development lens, and youknow me, my conspiracy beliefs
and my past experiences of myexperience of there being off
planet and my experience thatthis world is nothing of what we

(30:04):
know from the textbooks, thatthere's a story far greater than
that.
So my perspective on history isthat it's his story, that it
has been incredibly rewritten,that it has been incredibly

(30:27):
rewritten, incrediblybastardized and incredibly
weaponized, and it's beenrewritten and rewritten so many
times that I take it with agrain of salt.
That's my perspective onhistory today.
I would not have said that 10or 15 years ago, but today I
take it all with a grain of salt, because I'm very aware of how

(30:50):
much it's been used to weaponize, to conform, to consolidate.

Speaker 3 (30:58):
To like put people against each other.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
To have governments have the level of control that
they want to have control and,as a result, a symptom of that
is that people are pittedagainst one another.
That's a symptom, like, I think, that everything we're living
today, with everybody hating onTrump or loving Trump or
whatever, or hating on Biden andloving Biden that's all a
symptom of something much biggerand greater, and so that's.

(31:21):
I guess that goes back to mythoughts of what I want to talk
about in the next episode aroundthis symptom that we are stuck
in called anger, blaming,blaming the other side.
Like none of that.
We are just a part of thedisease when we stand inside of

(31:44):
that energy.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
You can't cut down the top of a weed and expect not
to grow back.

Speaker 1 (31:48):
Right, yeah, we have to actually get to the root of
the weed.
And the root of the weed, Ibelieve, is the heart of an
individual, and our hearts haveto heal so that our planet can
heal, and it isn't even ourplanet.
Our hearts have to heal so ourcommunities and our governments
can heal, but our communitiesand our governments cannot heal

(32:11):
without our hearts healing.
And that's really what I wantto call this podcast.
It's about heart healingadventures, because I believe
that our world and our life isthis is an adventure.
You and I are on this planet,we're on an adventure and we're
healing our hearts, one day at atime.
You know, one situation at atime.
That's my thought.

(32:31):
What else?

Speaker 3 (32:33):
Uh, that's pretty much the only question I have.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
No.
As a 13 year old Leland, whatis your message out there to
other kids your age?
What do you want to leave kidswith, given the state of our
world?

Speaker 3 (32:51):
What do you mean, given the state of our world?

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Well, given the state of our world, look at our world
right now.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
Like what part of it?

Speaker 1 (32:57):
Everything that the world is going through.

Speaker 3 (33:00):
What advice do I want to give people?

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Yeah, what advice would you like to give to the
world is going through.
What advice I want to givepeople?
Yeah, what advice would youlike to give to the world from
your point of view?

Speaker 3 (33:08):
I don't really know.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
It's a good answer.
You know cause.
You know why you're stillgrowing and learning.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
Yeah, like 13.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
You know what I think I'm going to say this One of
the things I love and this hasnothing to do with a single
parent household One of thethings I love about our
relationship is that we havereally open communication and I
think that you and I have a veryspecial relationship.

(33:46):
I think that we have a veryunique relationship.
We're very open, honest.
I think you've seen a lot ofbad sides of me where I'm really
stressed out as a single mom.
You've seen me have to manageand navigate all the things we
manage and navigate.
You've seen me move throughchallenging times fiscally,

(34:13):
romantically, career-wise.
You've seen me go throughbreakups.
You've seen me go.
You've seen me lose familymember.
You've seen me lose jobs.
One of the things I love aboutour relationship is that I'm
always able to come to you andjust really talk about those
things, but I think also thebirds and the bees we talk very

(34:34):
openly about.
I think, like, overall, I thinkyou're a pretty awesome kid and
I'm really proud of you, giventhe fact that we haven't had the
two people here and I've I'vedone my best to support you in
ways where I've brought somepeople to your world as mentors
and tried to support in that way.

(34:56):
But I think you're doing aphenomenal job.
But I think you're doing aphenomenal job and I think what
I really would love to leave theworld with in this conversation
is it is unfortunate when kidshave a single parent household.
But what if we just startedbelieving that it just is what
it is and it doesn't have to beunfortunate, that really we

(35:18):
could maybe change or shift thatparadigm?

Speaker 3 (35:24):
but it just is what it is.
I mean, it is what it is.

Speaker 1 (35:26):
Mm-hmm, but we don't have to have people feel sorry
for us or we don't have to havepeople look at us differently,
because sometimes I think peopledo.
What's your thought about that?
I agree, yeah.
So what would you like to leavethe world with?

(35:46):
Before we wrap up this episodeand I'm just want to say thank
you for being my guest andsharing your world and thoughts
what would you like to leaveeverybody with?

Speaker 3 (35:56):
I want a tortoise named Eugene.
Learn how to do a front flip.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
You want to learn how to do a front flip?

Speaker 3 (36:04):
No, I'm just telling people to learn how to do a
front flip.

Speaker 1 (36:06):
Oh, you're telling people to learn how to do a
front flip.
Everybody A flump, front flip,a front flip.
Why do you want people to learnhow to do a front flip?
Wow, wow.
Why do you want people to learnhow to do a front Wow?
Why do you want people to learnhow to do a front flip?
Because it's cool.
And what will it give back tothem?

Speaker 3 (36:30):
It'll give them the ability to go to someone and be
like hey, do you want to see medo a front flip?
And then they do a front flipand everybody's like whoa you
know how to do a front flip.
That's so cool.
That gives them more confidence.

Speaker 1 (36:44):
Very good, gives them more confidence.
Okay, what else do you want toleave the world with?

Speaker 3 (36:48):
Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, meatballs.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, meatballs what does
that mean?

Speaker 3 (36:54):
I'm hungry.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
Are you hungry?
Really no.
Thank you so much for being onthe show today.
Thank you for sharing yourviews on politics and history.
Thank you for sharing yourviews as a single parent, kid.
Thank you everybody forlistening to the show today.
I look forward to seeing you onthe next episode, where we do

(37:20):
go into a little bit more aroundmy opinion which is like an
a-hole, because everybody's gotone on politics and my point of
view of where I think the worldshould begin to put their focus
on.
But until then, if you like theepisodes, please rate the show,
put a review down below and welook forward to seeing you next
time.
Have a great day.
Thank you for coming on thishealing adventure today.

(37:42):
If you're starting to see howeverything is falling into place
for you, consider rating theshow and sharing it with one of
your friends.
Keep that spirit alive and joinme next week.
Same place, same time.
Have a great week.
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