Love Sweet Love

I am glad you are here everybody. Today we are going to talk about negotiation. Why are we talking about negotiation on Love Sweet Love, which focuses on our connectedness and social health? Well, because negotiations don’t just happen at work … they also happen in our everyday lives, within many of our relationships: such as with our partners, our bosses, our kids and our neighbours, and how we manage these negotiations for what we want and need can very much affect our relationships. Also, we are approaching the holiday season and some of us end up spending more time than we normally do with lots of family, lots of people with differing opinions, various dynamics going on with personalities that sometimes clash, and with people who are sometimes over-tired and stressed. We need strategies for how we can get through these upcoming holiday times and remain sane while doing so. What will help us keep the peace but also allow us to be our full selves? Is that even possible? Are there things we can do to…

Today my guest is passionate about many of the same things I am. His specific quest is to help make communities places of recovery, or “recovery-ready” to support folks who have been in treatment for addiction and are returning to their communities, but also, for all the members of a community, because you will see that what he is advocating for, and helping communities do, is to create cohesive, responsive, caring, collaborative places for all of us to get what we need to thrive. Mark Lefebvre is someone who is definitely working for the greater good. He knows what he needed when he came through his recovery programs and he wants others to have those resources and supports, available. Mark is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and he is the author of the book, "Healing a Village:A Practical Guide to Building Recovery Ready Communities". Mark has served on several boards, such as the Seacoast Youth Services, and Step-U Parents, is an advisor at the Pinetree Institute, and he is the co-founder of the Safe Harbour…

If you were, or are, fortunate enough to have a close relationship with a grandparent or older family friend in your life, you know how lucky you are. There is just something magic in these times – for people of both generations involved. These interactions used to happen more frequently and naturally in our families and in our neighbourhoods. We as a society have been retreating inward, as our homes become more comfortable, more filled with all of the conveniences we need, and many of us are working from home. This is changing the landscape of connection and interactions amongst us. How do we nurture our social health, if we are not connecting as much anymore? And loneliness and isolation? They are rising, especially in the older demographic, and in young people. This episode is about the benefits of intergenerational programs, and intergenerational connection. I have a wonderful mix of some interviews from a non-profit called Volunteer Grandparents and some on-site recordings at a seniors’ Care Centre. And…

Hello. I am so glad you are joining me, and if it is your first time, welcome! Today I am going to introduce you to Tina Shaw who leads a group “100 Women Who Care Fraser Valley”. This group of women is so inspiring and I am excited to share what they do with you. Basically, the women each bring $100 to a meeting, 4 times a year and then because there are 100 of them, they present a $10,000 cheque to a local charity each of those 4 times. Amazing, right? If you are a long time listener of the show you might remember the episode in which I interviewed Mike and Frank from the “100 Guys That Care South Surrey”. It was Episode 22 and I put a link to that in the notes here. Today, Tina and I talk about how it all started, how she came to lead the group, what kinds of charities they support and how they decide on which ones get the money. We also hear some of the stories of how their funds have made a difference, what these charities do for folks in the community, and how you can support charities in various ways,…

If you find yourself wondering what the heck is going on with the world today, along with our growing feelings of meaninglessness and despair, I think you will find this episode not just interesting and informative, but actually helpful. Today, I am so pleased to say that I am speaking with Dr. Seth Kaplan. Dr. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states, a consultant to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, the US State Department and others. He is a Professional Lecturer at SAIS and Johns Hopkins University and he is the author of the book: “Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code At A Time”. Seth and I talk about how he answers the question that so many people ask him: “Is the US a fragile state?”, the link between our striving for upward mobility and what he calls, “social poverty”, the signs that tell him that a neighbourhood is thriving, what kids need in a neighbourhood, what his “sideways approach” to improving neighbourhoods is, the importance of each of us…

This is an episode I am excited for you to hear. This topic -- about what we clamour for to feel successful, and why, in the end, we don't even feel fulfilled. In fact, we often feel worse. In this episode, I will share with you some research findings and expert opinions on the one thing that makes us the happiest and healthiest in life. It is accessible to all of us. It has been tested and tested and tested, and the findings are clear. This one thing also will help us stay on the right track and not be repeatedly pulled into the powerful lure and of those false markers of success that we all get pulled into. I know I do -- and I think and write about this all the time and I still get sucked in! I'll give you a new way to look at life that might be helpful to you. I know it has helped me to keep my eyes on the most important prize, so to speak. I'll also give you four questions to ask yourself that can help you know if you are actually on the right track, that I have found have been helpful to me. I will…

Welcome to this episode of Love Sweet Love. If this is your first time here, I hope you come back again! I love sharing inspiring ideas, initiatives and innovators who are growing good and even spreading love (I know! Cue the eye-roll, but it’s true!) in the world. Today’s guest is David Burton who teaches the very popular Engaged Neighbour Program at the University of Missouri Extension. He is a writer, speaker, community developer and of course, an engaged neighbour. He will tell you that it wasn’t always this way, however, and he and I talk about how he came to do this work, what his course consists of, how Missouri celebrates and fosters engaged neighbouring, why he thinks some people are reluctant to know their neighbours these days, what we can all do to move toward connecting ourselves in our neighbourhoods, and why it is imperative that we do this. I hope you enjoy this informative, funny and warm conversation with David Burton, as much as I did. RESOURCES…

Welcome back everyone. I am so thankful you have chosen to listen. Listening to the stories of some of the good that is happening in the world, really helps us stay strong, while we try to deal with and process all the negative around us. You will find today’s episode really interesting and entertaining. Today, I am bringing you a conversation with Marj Kleinman, the founder of NYC’s Stoop Stories. Marj is an award-winning filmmaker and visual storyteller, and she and her team connect NY neighbours, across generations and differences to celebrate, preserve and enliven Stoop Culture through documentary films, story-telling and community events. Marj wrote for children’s television such as PBS kids and Sesame Workshop, for over 20 years, and she has a background in Theatre and an MA in Educational Psychology. Marj and her team have been featured in the NY Times, the Washington Post, the We Love NY Campaign and several other news outlets. Marj and I talk about how it all started, why she is driven to preserve…

Social health is becoming a widely talked about segment of our lives! It has been for years but the attention it is getting right now is finally doing it justice! This episode is just me. It is me sharing with you some of the thoughts I have, and have written about, regarding our connections, regarding loneliness, regarding our responsibility to ourselves and our kids, to figure this out, and fast. Today’s episode has two main parts. The first part is about a dangerous misconception we have and how that manifests. I will talk about why this is happening, and why we absolutely DO need each other. I’ll focus on one of the simplest, accessible, impactful ways we can nurture these connections and our social health – our HEALTH, period – and that is through our connections with our neighbours and actions we can take in our neighbourhoods. The second part is looking at friendship and loneliness. It is about what loneliness is and isn’t, why we, and our KIDS are feeling lonely, and what is our part in that reality.…

I am excited for you to meet my two guests today, Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway. They are a married couple who are co-founders of a non-profit called Community Plate, in Maine. They also have a goat farm, are authors, have a busy family and a real love of bringing people together and building community. You’ll find out how a cookbook, celebrating Maine’s bi-centennial, was kind of a spark for their non-profit, and how these recipes led to another cookbook and then those led to the vision of these dinners. Karl and Margaret always believed in the power of food (and the stories around food), to bring folks together and so you’ll hear why and how they began these free, community potluck evenings that have strangers eating side by side, over conversation around food and family. They masterfully design these simple, yet carefully planned evenings for inclusion, connection and belonging, and they have seen the positive impacts these dinners have, not just when they are happening, but that there are ripple…

Some people just radiate love and community and positive energy. I am so glad you are choosing this episode today, as this is one of my all-time favourite interviews. Sometimes, my guest and I welled up with tears because of the beauty we felt in what we were speaking about. My guest on this episode really understands community and love and culture and celebration. She has only been a few years here in Canada, and she is making all kinds of impact in her city of Port Coquitlam. Her name is Mithila Karnik Adarkar. She is a professional, a community-member, a believer in diversity and inclusion, a sharer of culture and builder of understanding. She is a visionary and a solution-seeker and fierce advocate of women. Mithila is the founder of the Poco Diwali celebrations. She is also a co-founder of the “Make a Fuss Movement”, which empowers women of today, the past and the future. You’ll hear Mithila talk about why she believes in community involvement, what she gains from it and what she wants her daughter to…

My guest today is creating community and wellness on quite a massive scale! My guest is Vanessa Elias and she is a mental health activist, a certified parent coach (she has her own company called, Thrive with a Guide), and writes and speaks about child and family wellbeing. Vanessa is also the founder of Block party USA. She is a firm believer that block parties are a cure for most of what ails us today. They are simple, actionable, free, joyful ways to allow for face to face connections, free play for kids, and many other benefits to us and our children. You'll be surprised at the myriad ripple effects of a block party! Today we talk about why Vanessa id such an advocate for mental health, how Block Party US originated and why, what the many benefits of block parties are and why they are so impactful, why face to face connections are so vital fro our wellbeing, and why kids need to have free play opportunities. We talk about the benefits to teens, to our support systems, the resources vanessa has for you,…

What happens when we are consumed by our work, or the titles and roles we have? And when I say consumed, I mean that almost literally – like swallowed up, or as if we melded into one like some kind of chemical reaction that happens when two substances merge. If there is no boundary between work self and non-work self, no off switch, like when you come home from work, or when you finish with the last client as you work from home, how does the transition to relax happen? The transition into the “you” without work? IS THERE a you without work? Also, even more worrisome… what happens when you lose that title or role you have completely given yourself to? I am saying when, not “if”, because you will lose that title eventually. Nothing ever stays the same. Eventually, things change. Today, in this episode we are going to look at some of the aspects of over-identification with our roles and titles. For those of us who happen to be super-achievers, strivers, very capable people, this will likely be of help to you.…

I am looking forward to sharing this inspiring and informative conversation with you. I speak to Greg R. Baird, who has been dedicating his life to inspire, empower, and educate folks about the fact that each of us has something to offer, and we all matter. Especially now, as we see the long fought-for DEI policies in the States under attack, these kinds of conversations matter. Greg and I talk about his childhood in a small town and affected him, how and why he went into teaching and then moved into speaking around the globe, why he feels storytelling is an effective mode of communication, how these DEI orders are affecting him and what he does, how we can try to stay sane and navigate the onslaught of negative news around us, what communities need to be productive, how we can be better allies and neighbours, where he got this caring demeanour from, and much more. Get in touch with our Guest, Greg Baird: http://www.gregrbaird.com/home.html You can also see clips of our conversation on YouTube@gaylebeavil

This is a fun episode for me, as today I am talking with a friend I have known for 47 years! I asked him to be on the podcast because I have been marveling at him and his wife and what they have done for 32 years now. They have created a fundraiser for children’s charities where they invite over 100 friends, and friends of friends, to an annual Bonspiel. They have a dinner and an auction and other various ways to make money, and I can tell you first hand, it is a lot of fun. At this event, everyone has a connection to Bob and his wife, Sue, somehow. Bob carefully creates teams and combines people from different friend groups, so connections are made and fun is had. In this episode you will learn how Bob and Sue (and many family members and dedicated friends) make this work and how they have kept it going for more than 3 decades. You will hear what the event looks like, how they choose the charities each year, and some of the touching (and hilarious) stories of success they have had. You hear how Bob has a…

Welcome to today’s episode. I am so pleased to have Lyda Salatian on the show with me. It was honestly one of my favourite interviews I have ever done. Her passion and dedication just burst through in every moment of our conversation. Lyda founded the nonprofit, Green Teams of Canada, in 2011. She has won some very prestigious awards for her passions and commitment, such as: British Columbia Achievement Foundation Community Award and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award - Environmental Sustainability. Lyda believes inviting people into nature and engaging them in meaningful, fun hands-on action, will instill an ethic that will lead people to care more about the environment and responsible environmental behaviour. Lyda has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit sector for 20 years. Lyda and I talk about: -how she began, and what motivated her to take on this huge task. -what the events look like and what projects they do -who can come to the events (hint – EVERYONE – all ages and abilities are welcome!) -why…

Welcome to another episode of Love Sweet Love. I am so glad you are here. Today you are going to find out about a revolutionary program that will turn your thinking around aging upside down. This program is called From Aging to Sage-ing and it was created by Rabbi Zalmon Schachter-Shalomi. It supports participants to consciously move through the challenges and transitions of life by engaging in the older years more joyfully, compassionately and deliberately. One of my guests today is Janey Talbot. Janey is a Sage-ing program facilitator, a hospice volunteer, a mom of 5 and a grandparent of 6. Janey has had a 35 year career in community education and development and has always been passionate about gathering groups of women for deep and rich conversations. Janey lives on the Sunshine Coast of BC. My 2nd guest is Wendy Scott. Wendy has taken two of the sage-ing programs and was made aware of them after she retired. Wendy has had a 35 year career in the municipal recreation field and has worked with countless…

Anyone who has been a busy mom (I had three kids in 6 years) and worked part time as a teacher. It was so busy and stressful at times. I was exhausted. I had no time for myself. Sound familiar? Studies show that what is most correlated with our happiness, is the sense that we have more TIME to enjoy our lives. Time actually matters more to your happiness than money, or anything else, according to Yale’s Dr. Laurie Santos, who studies and teaches about the Science of Happiness. She calls this “time affluence”. I know one of the factors of busy-mom-ness is the factor that we have no time. We are rushed. We are frantic. We are multitasking. It makes sense that I did not feel very happy sometimes at home. I must say here that there were MANY, many times of delight and fun and happiness and gratitude, amongst the stress, but I believe if I had known the important impact of time and our happiness in that phase of my life, I might have treated myself differently. Prioritized myself differently. In this episode, I…

My guest today calls herself a story-telling enthusiast. She is a professional journalist and after 8 years of television news reporting, she decided to move into the nonprofit world and charity work. My guest is the inspiring Kate Glaser. Kate heads the Hope Rises Network which tells and shares good news stories of love and hope from around the world, and Hope Rises also, importantly, takes action in Kate’s local community of Buffalo, New York. They raise money, often partnering with other brands and companies and give back to local families and causes. Besides all of this, she has a weekly spot on the Television show, Daytime Buffalo where she shares these good news stories and supporting local causes, she runs a marketing company, she is a mom of three, and much more. I am so thrilled to have her on the podcast, and to highlight her and her amazing work and life. We talk about: -why she moved from tv news to the nonprofit sector -the origin of Hope Rises and their mission -how they raise money and the…

Hi there. Thank you for being here with me on the Love Sweet Love Podcast. This episode is about something life changing and life-saving and that we can add into our lives. Life-changing and life-saving. It is free. It is accessible. My hope with this episode is that it will have you pause and think about how you can get more of this in your life, and into the lives of your kids, your grandkids and all of your loved ones. It is not just a good idea. It is imperative. I share with you some of the most impactful research findings on this subject, and put it all into one place, right here, on this episode. I have some examples and stories which I weave research through, and then near the end, I put all the benefits to your life together on one very compelling list. It will Blow. Your. Mind. What is this powerful piece that we can easily add into our lives? It is what i am calling the “other”, Vitamin “C”. It is: community. To end the podcast, I include some of the parting words of Dr. Vivek Murthy, the…

A local community kitchen. A shelter. A mobile meals program. These sound like very helpful services for our community, but maybe you are thinking that helpful doesn’t exactly make for an exciting and entertaining podcast, necessarily…. Well, don’t be fooled. This episode will inspire you, make you laugh, astound you with its vision and leadership and dedication of volunteers. Hundreds of volunteers. Honestly, this is one of my all-time favourite episodes I have ever recorded. I went down to the ward-winning Cloverdale Community Kitchen (or The Storehouse, as it is often called) , and met with the executive Director, Marty Jones. We talked, we laughed, he toured me around. He shared the workings of the place and all of their services – and I got to capture it in person for you. This is what community is all about. They actually operate by a code of words like: dignity, inclusion and compassion and you will hear why, and you will also hear that this is not just an empty kind of mission statement. These folks…

My guest today is Rachel Marie Martin! Yes, I mean the author, Rachel Marie Martin, who has supported and inspired so many of us, especially those of us who are moms and parents, to remember we are enough, we are not alone, we can get through hard times, and that we all have strengths and gifts that we are meant to embrace and even bring to the world. Rachel has been blogging for decades, has over 1.1 million followers on Facebook, and her website, findingjoy.net has millions of visitors each month. Her first two books are: “The Brave Art of Motherhood”, and “Mom Enough”, and her new book is called: “Get Your Spark Back”. In this conversation, she and I talk about all of it! We talk about how and why she started writing, how her personal struggles (such as a painful divorce, and even estrangement), affected her life and work, the importance of beginning or just taking a first step, why we need to think about our future selves, her new book and why she wrote it, the tools she included in the book that can…

On this episode I am highlighting a local group called "100 Guys That Care, South Surrey". They are basically a bunch of friends who got together to support local causes, groups and even families, who need a hand up. They are a bunch of regular guys who get together 4 times a year and donate $10,000 each time they meet, to a deserving group or cause. Who does this??? I wanted to know all about it, so they agreed to meet with me. I meet with them in their extensive man cave, which is a converted barn, owned by one of my guests. They talk to me about how 100 Guys began, why they do it, who they donate to, how they decide on who gets the money, how Rugby comes into "play" (pun intended!), what they hope for and more. It is such a rich, funny, real, inspiring conversation and I can't wait for you to hear it. THIS is spreading love, my friends! You'll love these guys and the two guests representing this group are: Mike Pajic and Frank Ellestad. Their email, if you know of some local groups or causes who need a…

I’m glad you are here to take a breath, pause and focus on some of the good that is happening all around us. It’s there, we just don’t get to see it sometimes. I am talking to my favourite demographic on this episode – young people. It is so inspiring and the wisdom and insight shared here today will give you hope for the future. I became interested in my guests today when I saw a post on Linkedin, from BC’s Simon Fraser University’s Community-engaged Research Initiative. It described a research project done by youth, and sponsored by SFU, about the ethnically-diverse, yet most under-resourced area, of South Vancouver. It said that the area is home to a quarter of Vancouver’s youth, yet the infrastructure (specifically the social infrastructure – the programs and places that support wellbeing and social connection) is not up to par. I read how 40 youth became involved as community scientists, to analyze features of their South Vancouver neighbourhood, to figure out what hindered and what helped, social…

This guest today is innovative and fierce and visionary and caring and compassionate and she is exactly the kind of person I want to highlight on this podcast. When I came across this person and saw how she is choosing to live her life and the mission she has, it was so inspiring to me. When I dreamt up this podcast, this is just the stuff I was hoping I could bring to as many people as I could. Folks who are choosing to spread love, spread kindness, fight for justice and equity and inclusion… and, she uses her platform for speaking up for what she believes, and for building caring, just communities. My guest today is Kaitlin Johnstone. She and her partner started a business where every time they sell some merchandise, a book is donated to a child. Wait until you hear how many books have been donated! The company is called Kind Cotton. Kaitlin and I talk about how this began, what fueled her to begin her company, how she views kindness (and why she sees it as very different from niceness) and why action and…

You will love this episode! The company I am featuring today is remarkable and I think, quite revolutionary. It is a local bakery, here in the lower mainland of BC, called Gabi and Jules. . It is known for having the most delicious, handmade baking and they use full-butter in all their goods, and NO machines. Everything is handmade. That is spreading love enough, of course, but… there is so much more to this place than just what they sell. I had heard about their inclusive hiring practices and I wanted to find out more about that, too. If you are someone who cares about inclusion, or believes in community, or is a small business owner of any kind, or even is just someone who loves a great piece of pie, you will love this episode. My guests today are Lisa Beecroft (co-owner) and Bree Grainger, a longtime employee. We talked about the culture they have created there: how it began, and how they nurture it and sustain it. I find out how Gabi and Jules came to be, where the famous pie-making came from, why they…

It is a huge honour to have my guest with me today. When I dreamt up this podcast, the Roots of Empathy program was one of the first examples of a program or organization that is fostering and spreading love, and highlighting this program was on the top of my dream guest list. Here is a tiny excerpt from founder Mary Gordon’s best-selling book called “Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child”: "Imagine a generation of children across the world entering into adulthood and parenthood armed with self-esteem, a reciprocity of understanding of emotions, a sense of community, a commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict, a valuing of social inclusion. Imagine the world this would call into being:...” Imagine. So inspiring. Is this not what we all want for our kids and our world? Impressively, at last count, this program has reached 1.2 million children around the world. The founder – Mary Gordon, has won a Governor General’s Award, among many other honours On their website it says that their mission…

“Creating Sacred Spaces for Transformation” with guest Christine Vaughan Davies I first found my guest today on Substack. I was drawn to her post called “Sacred tears” for many reasons – one being that anyone who knows me knows that I cry easily – well not easily, but “readily”, maybe. In her post, she wrote about what it could be like if vulnerability could be seen as a superpower. Here’s a little piece from that article: “To sit with our own or others’ tears can be healing and holy. Crying can be cathartic. I cannot count the number of intense hospital shifts that resulted in me crying in the car, the shower or on the shoulder of another person. My tears are a way of honoring the suffering I see. They also serve as a prayer and a release.” Rev. Christine Vaughan Davies is a busy, skillful, woman! She is a speaker, writer, educator and spiritual practitioner. Some of her titles are: a pastoral educator, a hospital chaplain, an ordained Presbyterian Minister, a Certified Educator with the Association of…

I am so excited to share this episode with you. It is the first time I have taken microphones and recorded my interviews on site! I did this because I was stunned by this place! I wanted to go back there and try to capture the magic that we witnessed when we went there this summer. My husband, Paul, and I, were looking for places to take his 89-year-old mum while here on her month-long, annual visit from England. She has been to BC’s lower mainland many times in the past, and we have done most of the typical tourist attractions several times over. We had just moved into the Cloverdale area of Surrey, so I was googling all of the touristy places that even Paul and I had not seen yet. We found this place: historic, not too much walking, related to trains (which were a passion of my sweet father-in-law who recently passed away), and you can even take a ride on one – in short, perfect! Well, what happened there, astounded me. At one point, I leaned over to my husband and whispered in his ear, with tears in my…

Today I am going to focus on teens and young adults who are choosing to give of themselves in order to support others in the community. I hear, and I bet you do, too, the disparaging phrase “these young people today” and how they are adrift, or idle or selfish, or unmotivated. This is not what I see. This is not what you will hear about today. I am regularly so inspired by the young people I get the privilege of working with. I am astounded at how articulate they are, at how intelligent and insightful they are, how deeply they believe in causes, how concerned they are for others and the Earth. I have worked with, and know some, teens and young adults who feel overwhelmed and feel hopeless, of course! We all do! I can’t blame them. We can look around and sometimes think -- what a mess they are inheriting, what a mess WE have made, as the older generations. Even in the face of this, in the midst of the mess and the negativity and divisiveness, and the conflicts… so many of them remain strong and hopeful and…

Who are the people who choose to comfort those as they die? Who are those who choose to be around that sadness, the tears, the grief? Who are those who could watch the loved ones of the dying, in their grief? These questions have crossed my mind many times – I could barely utter the words “death” and “dying”, let alone imagine myself trying to comfort someone during this time. I think those who do this kind of work are so admirable. This work is so needed and thank goodness there are people who can do this work. This is the work of love. This kind of work and care is such a loving act. Loving for those who are approaching death, and I am sure, loving for those who are the ones left behind. Hospice work is the topic of today’s episode. Don’t be scared of this topic – I urge you! I think you and I will find that this topic is more uplifting than we think. Today I have invited two guests who work in a local hospice, to talk to me about this work, our perceptions around death and dying, and why they choose to…

I am so excited about this episode. We have such an expert with us today! My guest today is a leading researcher in the study of flourishing and wellbeing. I have had the pleasure of knowing her for a few years now, as I was in some sessions with her in a series in my district and I immediately felt connected to her and what she has to say. She is incredibly knowledgeable, insightful, warm, funny, and relatable, among other things. She will unpack for us what it means to flourish in work and life. I am going to ask her about what she has found to be key in our ability to feel well and fulfilled at work, and in our lives. I am going to ask her about burnout and why it seems so prevalent, where she sees fun and play fitting into the workplace, what all of this means about leadership, and lots more. My guest today is Dr. Sabre Cherkowski. She teaches and researches in the areas of leadership, professional learning and development, mentoring and coaching, and diversity and education, at UBC Okanagan. She is the…

There are so many thoughts on forgiveness. I think of forgive and forget, or even that sometimes we say or feel we can forgive, but we won’t forget…. Which is right? Is there are a right approach to forgiveness? I think recently we have heard that forgiveness is good for us, as holding that burden of a grudge or hatred or something else negative, is only hurting us, … but then what if something is so heinous, it seems unforgiveable? Much has been written about forgiveness, of course. Gandhi said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” And, Mother Teresa said, “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” These sentiments describe forgiveness as an act, or an attitude or way of being, of love, and that is why I am focusing on it today. This is high praise for forgiveness but how do we do it? I think most of us agree that we SHOULD do it …. We know we are supposed to…

Burnout is one of the most uttered words of the past few years. I know in my work in schools, I often hear from colleagues that it seems harder and harder to find the stamina to do the job. Many of us have wondered, “Why does everyone seem so tired all the time?”. These feelings of exhaustion seem to be increasing, don’t they? I wonder, is if because of COVID? If so, why? Or is it something else, and are there other factors that are making us feel this perpetual tiredness and even, compassion fatigue? Is it that our resilience has diminished? Have we lost grit? Or are things just harder than they have been before? I suspect that it is a combination of these things and my guest today is someone who can help us figure out how we deal with these feelings so we can be happier and healthier. My guest today is working hard to address mental health and have topics like boundaries, burnout and wellness, be addressed more openly and prioritized more highly. My guest today is Michelle E. Dickinson and she calls…

Today I am highlighting an organization which fosters connection and care and harnesses the power of community to improve the wellness and lives of its participants. My guest today is Dr. Elizabeth Markle. She is an Associate Professor at Community Mental Health at California Institute of Integral Studies and is also a licensed psychologist, speaker (her TEDx talk is excellent), writer, and researcher. Dr. Markle’s research is steeped in the power of community and combines her clinical expertise with social entrepreneurship, in order to create strong cultures of health and wellness. She has done this at Open Source Wellness, an organization which she co-founded. At this skill-developing, community-building, support-giving, wellness-growing, joy-seeking, love-fostering organization, they embrace a "Community as Medicine" approach. This approach actualizes the “behavioural prescriptions” we are often given, and the way they are delivered -- and received. You will love this one! Open Source wellness website:…

Today, I am highlighting a really cool project, or initiative, as they call it, which is happening on BC’s Vancouver Island. I first noticed this group on Twitter, as I found they liked and reposted the same kinds of things that I did, and their focus seemed to be on focussing on the greater good of the community. Their name caught my eye, too, as it was about the “village”, a power which I truly believe in and know from much research and reading and Experience, is, or should be, an impactful, positive force in our lives that we all need. This group is called, “The Village Initiative” Today I want to share more about what they do, and I am pleased to welcome the Director of TVI , Cindy Andrew. Cindy is a former teacher, who has worked in various roles in health and wellness and education, for over 25 years. Cindy has worked for many agencies in the in the local community, as well as in the government, including ParticipACTION, the Canadian Association for School Health, The Psychology Foundation of Canada…

This is a very special episode in that it celebrates two people who are, and have been, fostering love for decades. These two people happen to be married, and have been married for many years. These two people are so dedicated to giving their hearts and time to the community, it seems like they treat it like their job. When you see them in their various ways of serving, they are so comfortable, so humble – like it is just what they do and who they are. Because it is. The truth is most people do not give of themselves like this. I want to know why these two do. I believe that if we can discover the secret sauce for having folks want to give of themselves and foster love like this, maybe we can spread it. Grow it. My guests today are Jim and Lindy McQueen. They live in Burnaby, BC, and we talk about how this life of service began, some of the many ways they make a difference in their city and community and hear some heartwarming stories along the way. LINKS…

On this episode we talk about what it means to be an “upstreamist”; teens and what is most important; social conditions and their impact; how colonialism got it all wrong and the brilliance of indigenous ways of knowing and learning; a gardener versus a carpenter approach to parenting; and so much more. My guest today is a Clinical Professor at McMaster in the Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioural neurosciences. She was appointed the education advisor to the Premier of Ontario and the minister of Education from 2014 – 2018. She has cross-appointments in family medicine and pediatrics, the department of child psychiatry at University of Toronto and sick Childrens Hospital. She has been a consultant on youth and mental health programs, child welfare and primary care for over 35 years. She is also a mom of 5 and a grandmother, too. At one point, in her excellent and informative book, “Love Builds Brains”, she boils it all down to this. She says (in chapter ONE mind you) that “At the core of everything I want to…

I have known today’s guest for more than a decade, and I have seen with my own eyes, her obvious intelligence, her broad vision of a compassionate world and the role she believes we all play in creating that world. Through coaching, writing, and community work she does, and through her daily interactions (whether at work or not), she has always focussed on a healthy work climate, and her colleagues’ and friends’, wellness. Her passion for wellness always had an underlying thread that highlighted good nutrition and the power of relationships. Now, not surprisingly, she has a business called, “The Nourished Executive”. We talk about where this passion for connection and community started; where food fits into connection; burnout and what leaders (and we) need to do to avoid it; having a strengths-based approach and lens; why she wants to get rid of the term work-life balance and what she believes we need to replace that with, and more. A great episode for leaders and managers, anyone working with groups, and…

Our guest today is an esteemed, best-selling author, speaker and consultant who believes love, is medicine. She believes and shares how love heals, brings hope and builds empathy. I have heard our guest today say that when talking about love, we do not necessarily have to sue the word “love” – but, she says, “when we treat somebody with respect, with kindness, when we share with them, when we uphold their dignity – those are all acts of love”. I completely agree, and these are precisely the kinds of actions I am trying to highlight through this podcast, so when I asked our guest today to be here, I was thrilled and humbled that she agreed. We talk about how she knew what her gifts were, how she builds awareness of the truth and moves through the injustice and pain with grace and kindness, where her inspiration comes from, if she sees progress in the Truth and Reconciliation process, how she felt about adapting the important "Braiding Sweetgrass' and what she hopes her books and speaking will achieve. It's a…

There is a small but mighty group of people in Burnaby who are doing incredible things with their time, creativity, and vision. These people have found a way to support hundreds and hundreds of people in this lower-mainland BC city, by promoting capacity-building, community engagement, new and exciting opportunities, avenues to equity, leadership and more. We are going to talk to some of the folks involved in a very unusual business. And… another aspect of this non-profit that is rather unusual is that ….most of these folks are retired. Most of these folks are former teachers, community school coordinators and other educators. I can’t wait for you to hear about this business. Oh, and by the way – they are volunteers. And they are spending much of their retirement time volunteering in this business. Is it philanthropy? No, it is not. Is it charity? You’ll see that it is not at all. It is so much more. It is a deep commitment to equity -- for equitable access. They care about opportunities and hope. They care…

Here are two young people who are acting and living in loving ways, every day, even as they navigate their packed grade 12 schedules, maintaining their grades and expectations, high involvement in their extra-curricular activities and of course, their relationships with friends and family. I talk to them about how they manage all of this, where they learned this ethic from and WHY they give all of this time to the service and love of others. We talk about their extra-curricular activities and what they learn from them, what skills they will take from these into their adult lives, what they learned when designing and leading their own after school programs for younger students, what tools do they use when they feel overwhelmed by society's issues and their own stresses, the importance of "voice" and what they want folks to know about teens. Please join us for this inspiring, humbling conversation. Article link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28888284/ Quote link:…

Today I have the great pleasure of bringing you the amazing work of Neighbourhood Houses. When I think of Neighbourhood Houses, certain words spring to my mind: The first one is, welcome. Other words that come to mind are: inclusion, gathering, opportunity, capacity, possibility, involvement, assets, equity. The work done in Neighbourhood Houses is definitely fostering and spreading love. These folks truly act in service of others. My guests are CEO, Antonia Beck and Board Member, Sue Montabello. We talk about how they got connected to Neighbourhood Houses; what kinds of services NH’s offer; how NH’s differ from recreation centres; the focus on assets, capacity-building, and leadership; the NH’s role in nurturing a civil society, stories of success and what we might see if we all focused more on love. It’s a beautiful conversation! I’m excited to share it with you.

Educator, facilitator, speaker Gayle Beavil, introduces “Love Sweet Love” – her appreciative inquiry on love and its power to make us, and society, move toward more happiness, health and harmony. Listen in to hear what kind of conversations you will hear and why, what the word needs now, is indeed, “Love Sweet Love”.