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A community is built one act of kindness at a time. From neighbors stopping to help with a stranded car to showing up with paintbrushes, these everyday moments weave a web of connection and care. But I’ve been learning that strengthening this web isn’t just about giving. It’s also about being willing to receive. What if accepting kindness is itself a gift? Resources Choosing Love in a World Built on Dominance Finding More Kindness The post BOO541 – The Web We Weave appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

What if we didn’t have to wait for life to get easier before we could fully live it? Drawing on the Buddhist story of the tiger and the strawberry, Marcia reflects on finding moments of sweetness in the midst of fear, uncertainty, and grief. The tiger may still be there—but so are a warm blanket, a deep breath, the love of friends, and the sweetness of this moment. Resources Breathe Living in Uncertainty The post BOO538 – This Is It! appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Learning to intentionally focus our attention can change our brain structure according to Dr. Dan Siegel.  This episode explores the power of his Wheel of Awareness meditation practice Resources Wheel of Awareness Mindfulness Changes Us – Podcast Dr Dan Siegel’s Book – Aware Noticing – Podcast The post BOO536 – Encore – Focusing Our Attention appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Why is it so easy to stop doing the very things we know help us feel grounded and well? Instead of beating ourselves up or trying to force our way back with willpower, perhaps there’s another way: notice what’s happening, get curious, and try one small thing. This is nothing to fix, just awareness and choices. The post BOO535 – Moving the Needle appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

When words fail us, what remains? Marcia shares a deeply personal reflection on caregiving, uncertainty, and the moments when experience reaches beyond language. Inspired by John O’Donohue’s blessing Beannacht, this episode offers quiet companionship for anyone navigating life’s darker waters. Resources Beannacht from To Bless the Space Between Us Living in Uncertainty The post BOO530 – When Words Are Not Enough appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Learning how to get grounded helps us access more of our intelligence; we are not our brightest selves when we are reactive. Resources An Interview with Wendy Palmer Mindtraps Podcast The post BOO529 – Encore – Breathe appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

After thinking about Mary Jo Leddy’s talk “Surprised by Goodness”, I wondered how much kindness I do overlook each day?  Where can I extend a bit more kindness? Resources Self Kindness – Neff Self-Kindness – Germer Random Acts of Kindness Cultivating Appreciation The post BOO528 – Encore – Finding More Kindness appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Silence can be a gift. The pause helps us step back from reactivity, gain perspective, and listen for something deeper than our internal chatter. But not all silence serves us. Sometimes silence protects comfort, allows harmful systems to continue unchecked, or keeps us from living our values fully. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 […] The post BOO524 – A Time to Break the Silence appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Living from an appreciative stance can increase your life expectancy, resilience and creativity.  And it is hard to do.  This episode makes a case for increasing appreciation in our days and shares a few tips. Resources: Dr Rick Hanson on hardwiring our brain for happiness Brother David Steindl-Rast TED talk The post BOO523 – Encore – Cultivating Appreciation appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Catching herself in a cycle of avoidance and self-judgment, Marcia explores the familiar urge to fix what feels off—and why that approach often backfires. Through a moment of honest reflection, she uncovers what was really underneath and discovers a quieter, more powerful starting point: acceptance. Not as a strategy, but as a doorway to real […] The post BOO521 – Beyond Judging and Fixing Ourselves appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

A simple, unexpected note interrupts a cycle of stress and worry, reminding us how easily we overlook everyday acts of kindness. This reflection explores how small, ordinary moments of care—across differences and in our own communities—quietly sustain us, if we remember to notice them. Resources Kindness Changes Everything The post BOO520 – The Bright Spots We Almost Miss appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

When life changes and familiar roles fall away, it’s easy to feel unmoored. This reflection explores the quiet invitation in those moments—to pause, listen, and remember we are more than the roles we’ve played. Resources Connected or Separate?  – The Wave Story When I shared this radio show with my writing group, my friend Holly […] The post BOO519 – Who Am I Now? appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

In Parker Palmer’s book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, he talks about 5 habits of the heart we need for a robust democracy.  Habit 4 is  A sense of personal voice and agency. “Insight and energy give rise to new life as we speak out and act out our own version of truth, while checking and correcting […] The post BOO510 – Encore – Healing the Heart of Democracy – Habit 4 appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Parker Palmer believes that if taken together, the 5 habits are critical to sustaining a democracy.  The habits are described as deeply ingrained ways of seeing, being and responding to life that involve our minds, emotions, our self-images, our concepts of meaning and purpose in life.  This podcast explores Habit 3:  An ability to hold tension in […] The post BOO509 – Encore –  Healing the Heart of Democracy – Habit 3 appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

This podcast explores Habit 2 in the Parker Palmer’s 5 Habits of the Heart; habits that are critical for a vibrant democracy.  This habit is entitled: An Appreciation of the Value of Otherness. Resources: Healing the Heart of Democracy by Parker J Palmer — link to the book, discussion guide and resources. Full interview with Parker Palmer in […] The post BOO508- Encore – Healing the Heart -Habit 2 – Conversation with Parker J Palmer appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.