One of the unfortunate side effects of COVID has been challenges in people’s personal well-being: financially, physically, mentally, emotionally.  Mental health is a huge area of interest, and some say this will be the primary “pandemic after the pandemic.”  Depression, anxiety, addiction, domestic abuse, and suicide are all on the rise. Read on: this message is not all doom and gloom, I promise you that.

It is my wish to elevate and make space for more truth-telling, from the perspective of people taking actions to create positive ripple effects in the lives of others. Therefore, in partnership with a genius in communication, Jessica Smith, we launched a new podcast called: REAL Eyes Realize. REAL stands for Ripple Effect Actualizing Love. Our goal is to amplify the voices of those who are creating change in the world with the hope that it will offer suggestions and inspire listeners to do the same. 

The podcast highlights everyday people making Ripple Effects Actualizing Love in their families, communities, and our world at large. In each episode, we dive into how these people got started in the work they do today and how they continue to operate from a place of deep personal truth. With our guests, we go on an adventure into the hearts and minds of people sharing their stories of vulnerability, courage, and empathy. Guests share how they first “saw” their path and work in this world and how they continue to show up in service, no matter what circumstances and challenges they face. 

Together with our guests, we’re prepared to get super REAL…and you are invited to see beauty as people share their courageous struggles and experiences where life and service dance together. Offering this platform to our community  wouldn’t have been possible without partnership. Collectively, we took a concept and birthed it into fruition, and although it has been a ton of hard work, it has also been a true labor of love.

After our first episode, a “behind-the-mic” explanation of the podcast and its creators, I had the feeling of being bare-skinned and super vulnerable, almost as if I had just given birth, and people were coming to visit me in the hospital and wanting to meet the baby. Here I was, proud and excited, and also curious about bringing this gift into the current world. Was I ready for critical feedback about the name? Was I ready for people to make judgements about my intentions? Was I ready to put forth the hard recurring work of nurturing this baby in a way that would hold true to values of acceptance, inclusion, and raw honesty? The answer to all these questions was a definite “YES!” and it still felt like I was lying in the hospital bed, with no make-up and just a hospital gown, ready to bare my soul to the world. So, here we are: the podcast is live, and my hope is that people will find a deep connection with the stories shared by our guests.  

Almost as soon as we began, we had a ripple event that felt more like a shock wave impact our team. We took what we called a “compassionate pause” in our podcast production in December of 2020, due to an unexpected death of our podcast producer’s father. Jessica’s dad, unfortunately, left this earth from suicide. As we all held the pain with hearts that were ripped wide open, we also saw  the many, many gifts that have come out of this experience. One of those gifts is Jess’s truth-telling of her experience over the past 90 days in the latest podcast episode. It’s an incredible exchange, and we’ve come to realize, even through the toughest times, there is growth.

Early in the days of dreaming what this podcast could be, we agreed this podcast was set out to have REAL conversations. In the words of Edith Eger, we’re not interested in “pouring chocolate over garlic.” We discuss the lessons nature teaches us about impermanence. We also talk about resources for dealing with grief and the necessity to speak up if you’re in pain or know of someone who is.

What’s different about this podcast is that we want to continue the excavation of the themes brought forth by our guests in the way of a more interactive resource hub, to give our listeners extra tools and insights to facilitate courage and clarity in their own lives. With my experience as an executive coach, I am interested in  offering our listeners the gifts of insight and inquiry. We’re excited about the sparks this work has the potential to impact, in terms of positive change in the world – or, at the very least, offering positive messaging.

We invite you to listen to the podcast with an open heart. Guests will be diverse and intriguing. If you have a nomination of someone who is a positive ripple effect in your life, you can leave a SpeakPipe voicemail to nominate people whose stories you want to hear. You can subscribe to the REAL Eyes Realize podcast, available anywhere you download your podcasts. We’re interested in keeping things REAL, and you are a vital part of that process! Thank you in advance for being part of the supportive community who offers love and support along this new journey.