Hey friends, today's episode is the final episode of season one. We have been together for a year now and it has been so lovely! Thank you all so much for listening and being a part of the Finding What's True podcast community.

Of course not without a sense of humor the universe decided to school me on patience this morning, with some audio and technical difficulties, making this last conversation feel a bit like a limp across the finish line but I am offering it to you here with love, gratitude, and a grin for the always imperfect nature of making things. Especially things made early in the morning and while in this specific parenting season of life. Deep sigh.

Ahem, but I digress. Most of you know how I feel about Sister Corita Kent (total groupie) and today I bring us back around to one of her rules "everything is an experiment." Truly the only control we have is ourselves. If we can embrace this small hard truth than we can actually rest easy that there will be no wrong roads taken...each path simply gifts us information, to be observed, jotted down and folded into the next experiment. The trouble starts, when we stop taking new roads at all, when we put our heads down and plod along on a path already dug out by other folks. At first this seems easier than daring to step off into the wild meadows of this world, I mean you all know how I feel about snakes, but unless we do we will be left disheartened, angry, and empty. Because scaling a mountain, that wasn't even our mountain can do that - it can piss us off. It has to be our mountain, the one we truly want to climb or it's just not worth it...not even a little bit.

And with that, let's not be strangers. Let’s keep finding our truly together.

The podcast is wrapping up season one but the newsletter will still be reporting weekly. To stay in touch as we roadtrip in our Winnebago Brave this summer subscribe to the Finding What's True newsletter. I'll be sharing stories and photos from the wilds of the road with our two kids, small white dog, and fancy cat. And if you feel like being a paid subscriber that would be wonderful too. It would be like buying me a taco for the road. Because I’m sure gunna miss California tacos. And now I’m crying a little.

Lots of love always.

I think we can all agree that we would love to be doing something that lights us up. We would feel lucky if we found ourselves no longer walking through our day, as if the whole thing could be glossed over and forgotten. The proverbial groundhog day. Misery on repeat. Boredom.

If, say, we could walk into our kitchen for that first morning cup of coffee or tea and already feel awake, excited, and filled with endless ideas...maybe even (gasp!) anticipation for what we get to do that day. This is what happened to Lani Fox, owner of Rosemallow Artisanal, and my guest on todays episode.

During the pandemic, when food shortages meant that even the little things were hard to find, Lani created a marshmallow so magical, beautiful and surprising that it literally blew her friends and family away. Using homemade extracts, fruits and herbs from her garden Lani created something unique and beautiful but the best part was she really really loved making them.

What I love the most about Lani's story is that she is also a scientist and she hasn't stopped being a scientist just because she also now runs a Marshmallow business. More often than not we have a romantic idea, that we have to quit one version of ourselves in order to pursue a newer version. But if both versions are serving you than holding onto both of them, and more if you like (insert she's also a mother of two) can actually help you to find balance and joy in ways that perhaps you had lost sight of.

What Lani has quit, however, is giving her time to the things that don't bring her joy. And when you stop doing that, you end up being who you actually want to be...somebody true and somebody awake and somebody making room for delicious things in their life…which can also sometimes mean you become a person who doesn't fold their laundry…because that is also who you want to be. And that is A-Okay.

I hope you enjoy today's episode to taste some of Lani's incredible creations check out https://www.rosemallowartisanal.com/order

They are truly amazing.

On today's episode I have the distinct pleasure of having a cup of tea with Jaime Summer Handley of Monastic Mommas. We are in somewhat parallel journey's; as both of us are packing up and heading across the country (in the next month!), with our families but don't (as of this moment) have a new final address. Leaping into the unknown is tricky but especially tricky when you are in your mid-40's and towing small curious children around. There are a lot of questions from the backseat.

We chat in depth around the internal shifts towards hope, love, and possibility that an external move can conjure. The understanding that the good stuff in our lives never come to us as we planned, so we can ease up on that pros and cons list a little bit. Giving yourself to permission to listen to that inner voice whispering to you isn't always easy. We have to give ourselves permission to hear it and sometimes even give ourselves permission to not understand it. The learning happens on the journey. Walking the path brings understanding not the other way around.

Jaime studies the intersection of creativity and spirituality, exploring how the divine expresses itself through the unique creative voice we've each been given. She has a B.A. from UCLA in English Literature and a Masters in Spiritual Disciplines and Practical Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is an author, contemplative and creative coach and homeschooling momma. She leads groups through the artists way and writes a weekly Newsletter which you can sign up for on her website.

Good Things:

https://monasticmamas.com/

The Clothespin Doll by Jaime Summer Handley

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578825260/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639963228&ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&sr=8-3