Do you remember who you are? Let this be an invitation, an opportunity, to connect to yourself. Today.

Take this time to remember who you are, and what it feels like when you connect to yourself in this way.

Thanks to for tuning in to yourself today.
www.JulieCusmariu.com

Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Hello everyone. I'm welcome to Julieand conversation. So glad to be with
you today. March fifteenth, PISCESeason twenty twenty three. Today is Wednesday.
It's currently a little bit after twoon this Wednesday afternoon Eastern time.
So I welcome you. Whether you'retuning in live or some other time in

(00:37):
the future, May you receive whatit is you need to receive and what
it is you didn't even know thatyou needed. And always good to know
it's the perfect and right time.So whenever you're tuning into this whatever brought
you here, Welcome, Welcome,Welcome. It's always the perfect and right
time. I do believe that,and that always becomes validated each day despite

(01:00):
my impatience for things to show upor unfold in a certain time that I'm
wanting or expecting or needing. Itfeels needing. In quotations, I'm Julie
CAUs marry you. I'm the hostof this podcast. Been off the podcast
for a few weeks, tending tolife and other things at work and family
and existing in this universe and doingthe best that I can. And so

(01:21):
now this is sort of a birthdaygift to myself. My birthday's coming up
in a few days on March eighteenth, and I felt like this day couldn't
go by, this week couldn't goby with not recording another podcast. So
so glad to be here today.Let's take a breath together. Perhaps just
notice your breath, Notice where youare in this moment. Perhaps we can

(01:44):
take a moment to acknowledge where wesit, where we stand, where we
walk. Phyllis read Jarvis, aprevious guest on the podcast, talked about
land acknowledgments are more than words torecite. She said, they are called
to action to foster better understanding amongthose who occupy the land now known as
Canada. They are an acknowledgment ofan oppressive system that knowingly robs Indigenous peoples

(02:06):
access to their birthright. Land acknowledgmentsare a first step in moving our nation
towards truth and reconciliation. Today,I'm broadcasting from unseated Indigenous lands from the
traditional territory of the Gagne Gohoga andMohawk Gagne Gohoga Mohawk and the annishan Abbe
Algonquin people, who are recognized asthe custodians of the lands and waters on

(02:27):
which I am situated and speaking toyou from today, and so just acknowledging
those who have existed, lived createdbefore I, in addition to my own
ancestors, and thinking about those whowill come after me who are part of

(02:49):
my own ancestry and who are not, and just sending gratitude and hopefulness out
into the ethers and energetically into thelineages that have come before me, that
have enabled me to be here today, right now for whatever reason. I
was born here in Montreal known asjoag Jagai, Quebec, Canada, and

(03:19):
my father was born and I'm notsure why I'm talking about this, but
I think probably because it's my birthNay, maybe I don't know. Also,
we're talking about acknowledgement and ancestry,and my father is my late father
was born in book Rest, Romania, so Eastern European ancestry, and my
mother's ancestry goes back to Russia.She was born in North America in Montreal,

(03:40):
and my husband was born in Morocco, so he's North African North African
Jewish person. I am a Jewishperson as well. And so for those
who are familiar with the religion andidentity of the Jewish people. There are

(04:01):
Sephardic Jews and Ashkannazzi Jews. Ashkannaziis of Eastern European descent, and Sephardic
is of North African and Spanish heritageand descent. And it's a wide,
beautiful, diverse world of jewelry.And so here we are. I'm talking

(04:24):
about something I didn't think I wouldbe talking about, but just touching on
it briefly. Don't think I'll bedelving into that today. And how are
you today? What are you acknowledgingin you? What ancestry is speaking to
you or calling your attention or evenasking you to pay more attention to As
we breathe into this moment together,guess what? Nothing's planned today? Though,

(04:51):
As I was preparing for the podcastand even a little bit late for
my podcast date, which is typicallytwo p on a Wednesday Eastern, I
started getting some hints of what Iwanted to talk about or what might be,
what might be emerging or wanting tobe expressed. In addition to pulling

(05:13):
some oracle cards, which will also, you know, deepen the conversation and
bring some other wisdom to the surface. I thought of a couple of things.
Obviously, they're informed by where I'vebeen personally and professionally and what I've
been working on, you know,with my own support people, whether it's
supervisors or mentors or therapists. Alwaysthings that I'm you know, sort of

(05:40):
marinating on and noticing and experiencing.Sometimes those just become like sort of rise
to the top and say, talkabout me, talk about this. So
I'll be doing that today. I'llbe taking us through a guided visualization with
some music, and then I'll bewrapping it up. I do have a

(06:01):
guest coming up in the next fewweeks, Nicole Shiner. She was a
previous podcast guest. She and Iwill be talking about division of labor.
And I have this new book thatI picked up, well it's not new,
but it's new to me called fairPlay, and we're going to be
talking about that the role of parentingand equity and what that means. And

(06:26):
she's a therapist and a generous healerwith a lot of great wisdom and tips
to share. And you can staytuned for that probably by the end of
March. And other than that,there's always more. But I'm just going
to put on some music and collectmy thoughts and pull a card from one

(06:49):
of these card decks, and Iwant to welcome you. If you are
in the chat room, please announceyourself if you'd like, and if you'd
like me to pull a card foryou, let me know. You can
go to the chatroom at julianconversation dotcom and then you'll see the link the
button to press for the chatroom.I also want to encourage you before I
get into things, to subscribe tomy podcast leave a review. You can

(07:13):
do it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play. It's as easy as
like a star system, so youchoose how many stars you want to rate
it. You can go to ApplePodcasts. You can leave a review with
words. If you haven't done thatand you've listened to the podcast and you
want to share with others, thatreally helps. If you want to contribute
to the podcast on a monetary basis, you can do that in a one
shot deal, or you can dothat on a monthly basis through my Patreon

(07:39):
page. So as little as threedollars a month, or as much as
I'm not sure how much it is, but there's added bonuses and perks built
into the monthly donation, so youcan check all that on Julieinconversation dot com.
The sun is out today, soI'm going to put on a sunny
song right now. I haven't hadthe sun, it feels like in about

(08:01):
a week. I could be wrong, but I'm so glad it's out.
I mean, I'm inside right nowwith you here. Maybe you're outside,
and so maybe I'll look up tothe sky. What do you see?
What do you feel when you lookup to the sky. Maybe there's sun
radiating. Maybe you want to ifyou can close your eyes and allow it

(08:22):
to penetrate into your cells, thewarmth, the healing, the radiance of
the sun. I'm gonna pull acard from a new deck I've been talking
about on social media. And maybeyou've seen my friend and a fellow Canadian,

(08:46):
Asha Frost, Indigenous medicine woman.She's been on the guest several times.
I can never speak about her enough. Her work is so meaningful of
the words, the wisdom she sharesjust penetrates deeply. So her new deck
is called the Sacred Medicine Oracle.And I have been waiting for this,

(09:07):
probably not more than she has.But the artwork is tremendous. It's by
Steph Little Bird and I'm following heron Instagram as well. Steph Little Bird
and this deck is magic for me. I love pulling cards I have for
many, many years, and justto know that now I have ash Ash's

(09:28):
deck in my hands, so meaningfuland exciting through Hayhouse, the illustrations are
stunning. The Ash's words and herwriting is just so enveloping, and it's
truly deep and powerful and potent,and I love discovering it through each card

(09:52):
that I pull and listening to herprompts and just feeling like I'm being wrapped
in the medicine of each card thatI pull. So thank you, Asha
Frost. Congratulations by the deck.Leave a review on Amazon. This is
very helpful for book for authors andcreators, and check her out Ashafrost dot

(10:13):
com. You can find out whereto her buy her card deck also obviously
on Amazon and any local bookstores youwant to support. I'm just going to
share a little bit about Steph Littlebird. She's an artist, curator, writer,
and member of Oregon's Grand Ronde ConfederatedTribes. Her visual work engages issues

(10:33):
related to present day indigenous identities.Marginalized histories and responsible lands stewardship. Visit
her online at Stephlittlebird dot com,s T. E. P H.
Little Bird dot com and if youhaven't yet been introduced to Asha Frost,
I'll read you her bio. Ashafrostis an indigenous medicine woman and member of
the Chippawas of Nowash First Nation.As an energy healer, homeopath, and

(10:56):
mentor, Asha has guided thousands ofpeople through profound and lasting transformation with her
ceremonies, teachings, and speaking events. She is the international bestselling author of
You Are the Medicine. Visitor atonline at Ashafrost dot com. So I'm
gonna pull a card for us todayand made this message land where it may.

(11:20):
Maybe it resonates now, maybe it'llresonate at some other time or not.
But I'll just invite you to receivewhat it is you would like to
receive. My theme for today's podcastI haven't yet shared is remember who you
are. Remember who you are.That's not an obligation, it's not a

(11:41):
demand, but I'm seeing it moreas an invitation and opportunity because I've been
reminded of this prompt, specifically thisweek of remembering who I am? What
does that mean? Like? Whoam I? Remember? Who you are?
Have you forgotten? Do you knowwho you are? Does that sound

(12:05):
cliche? Does it make you curious? Does it make your eyes roll?
Does it have you wanting more andwanting to delve into that and being curious
about it? We will go deeperinto that, and so let's see what
these cards reveal today as I connectwith the energies that have created this card

(12:28):
deck, the healing, the ancestorsof Asha and Asha herself, with all
of you and your energy, whetherconnected currently or not, my intention is
to reach you whenever you are listening. We're still shuffling. Okay, sweet

(12:56):
grass Braid card, I wish Icould show it to you. This is
the number one card. Well,it's number one in the card deck,
and it says receptivity. I actuallypulled this card before. I haven't pulled
I've maybe pulled like four or fivecards since receiving the deck. I think

(13:18):
it was last week, and soI'm going to read it to you.
Sweet grass braid, Mother Earth's haircomes forward to bring blessings of abundance,
joy and love. This sacred planthas traditionally been used in sacred ceremonies to
call on good spirits. It isalso commonly used for beautiful crafts decorative baskets

(13:41):
that release its well known vanilla scent. It is here to bless your path
and help you to receive a millionfoldfor all the beauty you have put out
into the world. This reminds mewhen I was getting to meet Ashle.
She sent me a gorgeous package andthere was sweet grass in there, and
I have it close to me,and I love this smell and the medicine

(14:01):
it offers, and so I'll continuereciprocity. The practice of giving and receiving
is a very important part of walkingand balance, and at this time you're
being called into the receiving aspect ofthis teaching. There have been moments when
you have given generously, and thisgift of abundance is well deserved. There
is nothing else you need to offerat this time. Sink into receptivity and

(14:24):
allow all that is meant for youto come flowing like a never ending waterfall.
Sweet grass brings us back to love, kindness, and honesty, aligning
us to walk a life of integrity. Only you can know how to best
walk through this life. And thespirit of this medicine affirms that you do
indeed walk from your heart. Showingup intentionally is what is being called of
you. Now keep going. Theworld needs the blessings of your gracious presence

(14:48):
and the sacred ceremony. This promptthis offering that's additional on this page says
A medicine person hands you a braidsweet grass, and as you take it
into your hands, you feel awarm tingling. This activates your ability to
receive more deeply. As you bringit into your nose, you breathe in

(15:11):
its beautiful scent. The braid ofmedicine glows in your hand, and as
you take it into your body,mind, and spirit, it is sure
to invite more goodness into your life. Sweet grass is good medicine, and
so are you. And the healingaffirmation as I am ready to receive,
abundance is coming my way, beautiful. I love that this has come up

(15:37):
again receptivity for me. Also,it blends well with remembering who you are.
You know in this remembering of whoyou are, this is not about
doing more, not about performing,not about proving, but it's like stripping
all of that down to like theessence of who you are, who are
you, without needing to do,to show, to perform, to please,

(16:03):
to get approval. For It's likethe sun radiating right the sun in
its radiance, in its light thatit emanates, in its heat that it
offers, It brings life, itgives life, it shines light, and
just by looking at the sun,we can feel, we can we can

(16:23):
notice, we can benefit from.And so in this framing of not needing
to do, not needing to perform, what comes to mind is like the
sun has its job, it's obvious, there's nothing more that it needs to

(16:45):
do, and in it being itself, the world comes alive. And so
what is it in you that youcan just rest in and know that the
impact and the benefit of you beingyourself and connecting to this essence is enough

(17:08):
and will touch and will impact andwill be felt. And so this idea
of receptivity, it's like, there'snothing that I need to do. I
actually need to receive, I needto feel, I need to open up
to this possibility of the work hasbeen done, or there is no work

(17:30):
to be done right now, orthis is just the moment where I'm inviting
in and trying to feel into whatis it like to just receive, to
be, to allow and to connectto this place of who I am?
And I feel drawn to pick.I've been picking Judith Orlof's cards, and

(17:56):
so I'm going to pick one morecard and then I'm gonna put on some
more music. I guess I'll dothat now, and then we can just
move more deeply into these words oflike remembering who you are, and you

(18:18):
know, it's like we're not everlosing. Sometimes it can feel like you've
moved off course. I know thatI can feel that, or I might
have felt I could feel that rightnow, like in my work, just
taking some different avenues with my coaching, and some of it is I mean,
it's clear to me, it becomesclear, sometimes not immediately. Sometimes

(18:44):
it's like four months later after I'vesigned onto something where I realize, like
the no is much stronger than theyes, and so then I keep listening
to that until it becomes more clearthat no, this opportunity is not for
me. And so in pruning inand standing in realizing maybe why I took
that avenue, I could become moreconnected again to remembering who I am,

(19:08):
like this avenue was taking me towardssomething and someone I felt I should be,
but in fact nothing about it feltcongruent for me. And so can
I remember who I am and whatI'm meant to be doing and what my
strengths are and sort of pull myselfback in and reconnect to that piece and

(19:30):
make a decision from that place again, Like, is that benefiting who I
am? Is that benefiting what mystrengths are? Is that benefiting what I
know to be true about myself?And so it's a constant rerooting getting back

(19:51):
on track. The road twists andturns and winds. But if I have
that anchoring and that sense of itall comes from this, like this is
my anchor, then I can checkback in. I'd say, is this
place coming from that? Is thisdecision rooted in these values? Is this
decision rooted in who I am andwho I am and how this will serve

(20:14):
me? And of course we're alwayslearning and growing and being pushed out of
our comfort zone. And when Iam pushed out of my comfort zone,
I'll speak from my experience, thatis when I can I am forced to
remember who I am, because whenit becomes the comfort zone of like it

(20:36):
feeling scary and exciting is one thing. But the comfort zone, the discomfort
of it feeling like drudgery, drudgeryis different. And that's when the light
becomes dampened, and I know thatI need to course correct, so to
speak. So how does that connectto you and what's going on for you

(21:00):
right now? Let's see what JudithOrloff has to say about that. Remembering
who we are, Gangajie, She'sa woman whose retreat I went to meditation
spiritual teacher many years ago, andshe has a book called The Diamond in
Your Pocket, and it's a goodenough image to experience or relate that to

(21:29):
our discussion today. Are you connectingto the diamond in your pocket? Okay?

(22:03):
So surrender comparisons with other people,keep your eyes trained on yourself,
focus on your own strengths, attractivenessand power, and surrender to effortlessness.
Stop pushing so hard. The artof living means going with the flow instead

(22:26):
of trying to force the river.Receptivity, surrender to effortlessness, and surrender
comparisons with other people. I'm sensingsome synergy between these cards, between this
wisdom. Let's not force, right. Can we feel when we're forcing towards

(22:55):
a closed door and it starts foldingin on us. I know that I
can detect that those subtle energy whenI'm forcing forcing for something to happen.
Sometimes I listen to the forcing andI can pull back, and sometimes I
just push through and then something isrevealed that I knew would be revealed that

(23:18):
would indicate I should have trusted myself, or maybe I needed to move through
this to be able to trust myselfmore. But just even noticing the subtleties
and the energy also helps us navigateand move through these experiences that perhaps are
feeling uncertain, or perhaps we're jumpinginto or we're feeling out of alignment with

(23:42):
I just put the cards back.I meant to keep them out. So
what's happening to that diamond in yourpocket or whatever gem speaks to you.

(24:10):
Maybe it's not a diamond, maybeit's a ruby or an emerald or your
birthstone. What happens when you canrest, like imagine yourself perhaps to be
the sun. Do you want tojust close your eyes if that feels comfortable

(24:37):
for you, If you can justnotice your jaw, relax, your tongue,
your lips as you settle in perhapsto this moment, the space time

(25:00):
to just connect to who you are. This remembering of who you are,
it could be a reconnection to whoyou are. Maybe it's at a different
level this time. Maybe you wantto connect to yourself on a soul level,
of our spirit level, or maybeyou're connecting on a level of values

(25:26):
characteristics. You decide, find thewords that connect for you. So just
allow your body to relax into thesurface of supporting you, relaxing your torso,

(25:51):
chest, shoulders, relaxing your whatare you relaxing now, your breath,
relaxing your spine, letting all ofthe tendons, ligaments relax, release

(26:21):
or letting them know consciously that you'reinviting them to release and relax, letting
go of any tension, relaxing yourhips, pelvis, legs, feet,
and any other parts of your bodythat I haven't named that you are wanting

(26:44):
to bring attention to the fashion,the lymph and however deep the anatomy will
go for you through language or howeversubtle you feel it happening. This relaxation

(27:07):
at whatever level, whatever subtle energylevel, and just allowing yourself to feel
relaxed. So what would it belike that's so funny. The song that

(27:37):
I just played is called Chorls underthe Sun, and I was just I
mean, I'm sure there's many songswith the title the Sun in it,
but I was just gonna invite youto be the Sun. I don't know
if that's arrogant, but what ifyou just imagine yourself as the sun?

(28:03):
And if that feels like nah,I don't want to feel like the Sun.
I want to feel like something else, something that is in its natural
state, effortless. I mean,my intimacy with the Sun is one of
a benefiting from it, but I'musing it as sort of a metaphor and

(28:29):
also a lived experience of the Sunbeing in the sky seemingly effortlessly doing what
it does and then radiating light andimpacting life. And so I'm going to

(28:51):
imagine that or connect to this stateof the sun, the essence of the
Sun. Maybe you'll choose another naturalelement or a planet or or whatever comes
to you. A flower, aplant, a food, another food that

(29:22):
comes to mind, just something thatI've been eating a lot of and really
enjoying. Is the word I keeplosing the word arugola, Like imagine being
a rugola that nutty. For me, it's like this, I just feel
like instant health in my mouth whenI eat arugola. I just love it

(29:44):
so much and I just have toconsume it and enjoy it and chew it
to experience the essence and beauty andtaste of a arugola. And so,
could you imagine yourself in your neckstate like this natural state of you being
accepted as you are, born,as you are, a vibrant as the

(30:07):
sun, taste is tasty, asyour favorite food, without needing to change,
without needing to alter, but justbeing recognized, being appreciated as you
are for who you are, forwhat you omit, for what you provide,
for how you sustain, for whatnutrients you give off, for what

(30:30):
and who you nourish and innovate andimpact and inspire. Can you connect to
this place in you that is alive, that is undisturbed when there is disturbance,

(30:52):
that is always present, despite ruminations, that is always available to you,
despite and with all that you navigateeach day, whether personally or professionally,
whether individually or collectively, This placein you that is untouched, that

(31:21):
remains whole, that remains available Sometimesit feels probably more accessible than other times.
But today we are offering this placefor it to be accessible, for
us to remember this place and sortof throw it a lifeline and pull it
in and allow it to integrate intous. It is who we are.
We are a physical body housing aspirit, a soul, whatever your belief

(31:45):
system is, this non tangible,non physical part of yourself, this uniqueness
of you, this piece, thisplays, this part that is you,

(32:06):
all of you that is no oneelse. There is only one sun,
there's one moon, one mercury,There's one you. So what are you

(32:37):
connecting today to remember who you are? What you need to feel energized,
to feel alive, to feel likeyou are radiating your light. It doesn't

(33:05):
need to have such a vast territoryof shining as the sun does. The
sun that we know it in ouruniverse. What is yours to emanate and
radiate and be without needing to doanything or to do more of anything?

(33:37):
What comes forward for you? Whendo you feel like the sun? What's
happening? What are you doing?Who are you with? What activities are

(34:01):
you doing when you feel like thisconnection to this piece of you, this
place in you that knows that itis whole and just write where your uniqueness
is felt, where your natural abilitiesand talents and values and strengths are being

(34:30):
used and being experienced and felt.Can you, as the card says,
be open to this receptivity, thisplace where and this time where you've been

(34:54):
doing so much orchestrate in creating,organizing, performing, learning, gaining,
Can you put that aside to aplace where there's rest, where there's nothing

(35:22):
to prove or do, but there'sa state of receptivity. There's a state
of I will just be as Iam and feel the power of that of
you, feel the inherent power ofbeing who you are without trying to be

(35:47):
something else, something more, somethingdifferent, and knowing that who you are
is something that keeps growing, becomingmore of who you are. It's an
unraveling from my experience and unfolding,a discovery, a revelation. Each day,

(36:07):
with each new experience, with eachrelationship that is new or that is
deepened, we are offered moments andopportunities and experiences to remember who we are
each day. How are you rememberingwho you are today? Is somebody giving

(36:29):
you this opportunity to remember who youare, whether it might not seem obvious.
I had an obvious experience of itwith my coaching supervisor mentor who offered

(36:49):
me this experience. But indirectly,I'm being offered this experience every day with
every client, with every interaction withmy family. And so what if I
could consciously bring that to mind,like remembering who I am and allowing that

(37:10):
to inform my decisions. Is thissomething I want to do? This is
something I want to take on,This is something I want to say yes
to, This is something I needforever learning. So how are you being
invited to remember who you are thesedays? And do you need more reminding

(37:37):
and support with that? Do youneed some mirroring? Do you need to
seek out beauty outside of yourself toremember those places in you that reflect that,
that are that Maybe it's through music, art, visuals, a conversation

(37:58):
with a friend, or a professionalnature. How can you be reminded of
who you are? If we're notin this moment, how else? Because
there is no one else that wecan be but ourselves. In the fact,

(38:21):
it's who we need to be moreof, and we can get that.
Sometimes it's at a different level eachtime, Like this week I got
at a different level. There's aquote that I came across, I guess,

(39:42):
a couple of months ago by ElvisHuxley that says, when the sun
rises, it rises for everyone.And so when I shared it, it
wasn't in this context, but Ijust felt it popped up again on my
radar. When the sun rises,it rises for everyone. Can you connect

(40:07):
to the power of remembering who youare and knowing who you are, and
how it's your right and responsibility tobe who you are and apologetically and how
can you do that more? Andhow what happens to your vibration when you

(40:27):
allow yourself to be yourself, bewho you are? Express these qualities,
these preferences, these desires, thesevalues, these strengths, these abilities.
I know for me, I justeverything in me feels better, feels st

(41:00):
you know, immediately, stronger,increased vitality, purposeful meaning it takes work,
but I know the feeling. Andso being the sun, can we
see the purpose and feel the benefitsof it? We know the benefits of

(41:23):
the sun. And when the sunfinally comes out after six days of darkness,
oh my goodness, how good thatis. And everybody knows how good
that is. We have a sharedexperience around that. That's how I feel

(41:43):
when I coach people or when I'mwith people. You know, coaching is
just how it expresses itself in mywork. But when somebody is being themselves
and living in accordance with who theyare and what they're good at and what
they want to be doing, Ifeel that feeling for them, like,
oh my god, the sun hasjust come out. It's a privilege.

(42:12):
May you feel that for you?So thank you for following this experience with

(42:42):
me, this journey together of connectingto the diamond in your pocket, the
sun, or whatever it is youtuned into, arugula or chocolate water or
a tree, whatever it may bethat has you connecting and remembering who you

(43:06):
are, and to the imperative ofyou remembering who you are, how that
changes everything, and how we needsupport and remembering who we are. I
know I do. Obviously there's manyan industry created around remembering who we are,

(43:40):
the essential self, the big self, of the capital s, however
it is you know it to be, whatever lens you're seeing it through.
I think we all know what we'retalking about. There's lots of undoing that's

(44:01):
needed, unlearning, healing, aroundour social constructs, around our conditioning,
around our upbringing, around our ancestry, and that is vital to be doing
that work. And at the sametime, who are you? And thank

(44:36):
you for committing to who you are, to being who you are, being
here with me, listening and theothers. Thank you for amplifying the strength
of this podcast by tuning in andlistening and being dedicated to your your own
innate wisdom and truth and power andintuition. We strengthen it in others when

(45:10):
we can recognize it in ourselves,helps us uplift and inspire and support who
doesn't need that? So thank youfor taking this time. If you want
to open your eyes and just noticeyour surroundings and how you feel in this

(45:35):
moment now, and if it's anythinghas changed since when you first open your
eyes, taking a deep breath andexhaling out. I had a beautiful experience

(45:57):
the other day that caught me bysupprise. I was a pleasant surprise.
I was at my son's basketball game, which I am thoroughly, thoroughly enjoying
this season of basketball in our family. There's a lot of excitement and passion
around basketball that has emerged and developedsince I guess during the pandemic. And

(46:25):
my now nine year old is ona basketball team, and so we went
to see the last game of theseason before the playoffs, and the game
was close. They were trailing bytwelve points and then they caught up,
and then it was maybe by thefourth quarter with seconds left, it was

(46:49):
like, I don't know if thesewere the exact there was a two point
different. So twenty eight twenty six, the other team was leading. My
son's team had the older team watching. They just happened to be there because
they also had a game, andso there was a lot of cheering and

(47:10):
lifting them up, and a lotof energy and emotion around how much they
wanted to win, and the supportbecause they started they had a low start,
but they were fighting so hard andwanting to win. Obviously we can
understand that dynamic. And there wasfour seconds left in the game and one

(47:35):
of the star players, actually theonly female on the girl on the team
who is a joy to watch play, and she had the ball and she
launched it into the air. Idon't think launch is the right word.
She threw it into the air towardsthe basket, and just as the buzz

(47:57):
i guess it's called the buzzer beater. As the clock struck zero, the
basket, the ball entered the basket, and they tied the game, and
everybody from the sidelines and everybody fromthe bench ran towards her, her teammates.
Everybody was like jumping for joy.It was like a moment of ecstasy,

(48:22):
and I was like crying, andI was so taken by this,
like I think Brenne Brown describes thismoment of like being inextrictable, inextricably linked
to someone else and this collective joy. And it was this pure moment of
joy that I felt that everybody wasfeeling and it was so beautiful to witness

(48:43):
and be a part of it.Nine year olds playing basketball was of spiritual
experience for me. And yeah,I was very moving, and I just
want to speak to this experience,like, no matter how it shows up,
whether it's like the NBA you're seeinga game, or it's your son

(49:07):
playing his first season of basketball,and it's not really what it is,
right or the measure of the successthat counts, but it's for me anyway.
Of course, they didn't end upwinning by the way. They went
into overtime and they lost, buteverybody knew it was an emotional game,

(49:31):
and it was a very momentous experience, and I guess I was just floored
by the potential to be moved bysomething like that. I love sport,
you know, I've never been ona team. I did individual sport.
But I just felt very lucky tohave had and been given that opportunity to

(49:55):
feel to be have that feeling beevoked in me, and how there is
potential in our everyday, ordinary livesto feel that experience. And it was
humbling and beautiful and felt magical,so to those moments of collective joy where

(50:17):
we're feeling inextricably linked. Had amoment where like everybody started rushing towards the
team and I was on the sidelines. I didn't rush. I guess I
was like, oh my god,why do I want to ball my eyes
out? And then I turned tothe stranger and we both had that like
I had not seen this person before, and he was like, oh my

(50:37):
god, what a game, whata shot, Oh my god, Like
it was just undeniable. I feltlike I wanted to hug him, but
that felt strange, like I didn'teven like high five him. But that
would have been nice. You know. It was just like this moment of
like, what do I do withthis energy? And we need to connect
with it, so let it know. It was very exciting and fun.
So may you find it in thesmallest moments and be surprised by it or

(51:00):
the bigger moments. But who's measuringwhat those moments are and what matters is
if they're significant to us? Andso I thanked my son for that experience,
and it was just beautiful, sograteful for feeling being a feeling human.

(51:28):
There are moments when I'm not asgrateful to be so deeply feeling,
but that was definitely a moment whereI welcomed it. So thank you everyone.
I'm so glad to be with youhere today. March fifteenth, twenty
twenty three. I just reconnected witha friend that I used to work with
back in two thousand and four andfor a few years when I was the

(51:52):
sales manager for the National Women's Show. And I can't believe that it's been
like fifteen years since I've worked withher, and I maybe I saw her
a few years ago, but justthis idea of time traveling so quickly,
being so elusive and just what itmeans to be in the moment feeling and

(52:15):
that's the best that I can do. And so thank you for remembering who
you are today and taking the timeto do that and inviting me to be
in that space with you. Iwish you the best and may you let
your intuition lead. I will seeyou soon. Don't forget to subscribe to
the podcast, leave a review,donate if you're feeling called, and reach

(52:38):
out to me and let me knowwhat you're gaining from this hour, what
you're taking with you, who youare remembering yourself to be. Wishing you
all the best. Cheers everyone,U