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Today is a story about family life and the odd, wonderful gifts that come out of the dysfunction. Lee Ann mines the rituals of family and gives us a beautiful ode to love, with music by John Hopkins.
It’s got a little something extra at the end, so enjoy this seven-minute love story that will both delight you and bring a wee smile to your face.
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We get help from our mystic and poet friends today as we celebrate love and passion: love of self, love of others and love of God. Lee Ann is joined in this episode by poet-lawyer, Andrea Grill. Enjoy this poetry in all its naked beauty!
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What story or stories are you telling yourself right this moment about yourself, your past, your future? What kind of tales are you spinning about others? What myths do you hold about the world and the current state-of-affairs?
Today, Lee Ann looks at story and shares how she switches the script in order to tell better stories about herself and those around her.
Two Birds (Lee Ann Hopkins)
There are two theologies that arise–
Two birds taking flight
from the clay below.
One rises in song,
One with broken wing.
The poor one pecking its fallen self
as the songbird hears only
the call of God’s whisper:
“Oh you are good–
You, oh lovely creature!”
Divinity offered mirrored
words to the limp:
“Darling, you are holy;
fly my sweet, my innocent!”
To which he finds a worm in the apple.
Then the showers come
and the showers go.
Will they reek destruction or
will there be flowers and a rainbow?
That, my friend, all depends on where your bird’s story begins.
Get your weekly “love letter” from Lee Ann. These weekly words arrive in your email box every Monday morning. They are like the anonymous love notes that Lee Ann leaves in the Metro, on the trains and in public spaces in the DC area. Why anonymous love notes? Because we never know the struggles of another or their hope and dreams unrealized…but we can add some light and love, even if anonymously to remind the holder that there is always hope. So since you will likely not find your own anonymous love note on the train, why not get a love letter anyway and start your week off with some encouragement? Click here to get yours!
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Happy New Year! Lee Ann has a short, SHORT story to get you started off right. And no surprise here–the story is about love!
The story is called “Love 2.0”, and the script is below to read again later! May self-love be your starting point this year as you disentangle irrelevant, old and useless programs like low self-esteem, grudges and resentments. Continue Reading
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The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic. It’s a must-read as a child AND as an adult.
Margery Williams (also known as Margery Williams Bianco) wrote this children’s book in 1922 about a stuffed rabbit and his desire to become real. The subtitle “How Toys Become Real” points the reader and listener to the truth. That truth conveyed through a small bunny in a boy’s life can change all of us. Listen closely for the wisdom of Skin Horse and the Nursery Magic Fairy as Lee Ann reads this timeless story to you and yours.
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Feeling a bit anxious in these dark and tumultuous times? You’re not alone! Listen in as Lee Ann shares two stories from her Icelandic travels that speak to the hope and light that we all need. It is the season of hope, light and expectation after all!
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“Yes” is a superpower in our world of “No!” This meditation is a musing about my favorite word. Find out why! Maybe you’ll learn to like it as much as I do.
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Grab a chair, pillow or some place comfy! Today, Lee Ann guides us through a simple and relaxing meditation. Take 10-15 minutes for yourself. You’ve got the time. Stop and take a few moments during all the chaos that life seems to throw at you. You deserve it.
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Today and everyday, the good life is about gratitude, right? You bet! In this episode, I consider this all-encompassing thing we call “gratitude” during that time of year when many of us–most of us–sit at overflowing tables, bow our heads and give thanks with our friends and loved ones. May you find within it something that will both lift you and challenge you.
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings;and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
The struggle ends when gratitude begins. –Neal Donald Walsh
If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough. –Meister Eckhart
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls bloom. –Marcel Proust
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. –William Arthur Ward
Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart. –Seneca
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. –Thornton Wilder
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other as though everything is a miracle. –Albert Einstein
Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or the last time, then your time on earth will be filled with glory. –Betty Smith
Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all. –William Faulkner
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To say that “you’re in for a treat” is an understatement when it comes to hearing the extraordinary storyteller, Kristin Pedemonti. Today’s “Moments” episode is a story that all of us can relate to in some form or another. I don’t want to say anything about it because hearing the story is “it”…
(Production Note: The sound on today’s podcast is a bit “tinny” because we were recording remotely. Just think ‘old time radio’ and forgive me, would ya!? It’s worth it, I promise! I’ll be back with my usual microphone next week!)
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Which of these two do more damage: power or powerlessness? Given today’s environment in which we live, it’s important to know. Listen in and find out if you are, in fact, powerful.
Next week, Lee Ann invites Kristin Pedemonti, storyteller extraordinaire, to share a favorite story, “Superhero Grandma.” Kristin called in with her story and it’s here for you to enjoy on November 13th!
Stay tuned as Lee Ann will be the guest on “The Podcaster’s Life” and also, “In Her Voice” in the next couple of weeks.
Thank you for listening. Please subscribe and review this podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
We hope that you carry love and power into your week. Remember, Lee Ann loves you!
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We are a people in need of friendship–not only with others, but with ourselves. Today, Lee Ann explores friendship and belonging in this episode. Because this topic is so wide and so deep, we’ll return to this subject again.
You’ll find the notes for the episode below. Please don’t forget to reach out to me, Lee Ann, with your ideas and your comments HERE. I’d love to hear them. You will most definitely get a response from me. Thank you for listening, subscribing and sharing. Remember, I love you. I really, REALLY love you…
