The Underbelly

22/12/2021

Oh! I am so excited for this episode.
Just came across this gem - I almost cut it! That would have been a mistake.
So much in this episode. Thank you so much to Stephanie Bonastia!

22/12/2021

So last year on February 1st, I recorded a podcast episode.
I am editing it now and releasing it tomorrow morning. I have a conversation with Stephanie Bonastia.

It's weird how long it can take some time to be ready to release things into the world.

That incubation time is so important — and actually, a recent conversation I had with two mentor/friends that will be released soon speaks to that -- that time needed going from shame, to pride, and settling into humility...

So - tomorrow's Wild + Precious podcast episode is highly personal and also a very deep offering into the process of recovery.

https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/

16/12/2021

I decided to do a replay of Wild and Precious Conversation's most popular episode...and I was a bit surprised that it is this one — I think it's not a bad topic for this week —

Listen now (23 min) | Replay from July 16, 2020 because I feel like we need to know what "good enough" is.

09/12/2021

Wild + Precious Conversations podcast
Rebecca Hunter tells what she saw at Fairy Creek for the first time. In Part 2, we focus on what we can do. We may need to remember that when we come together, we can effect change for good - and small actions can have very good intentional and unintentional consequences.

01/12/2021

and I had a conversation about what she saw at Fairy Creek and (part 2!) what she plans to do about that (hint: write a book) It's a powerful conversation about what happens when you can no longer look away. When it's no longer abstract.

25/11/2021

Thank you for these words - I am rereleasing our podcast episode on her recent book, "Healing the Other Within) this morning because I think we need to hear this stuff today (everyday)

18/11/2021

Wild and Precious Conversations "relaunch" expect weekly drops each Thursday.
Listen and Subscribe wherever you want -
If you subscribe via Substack (this link) you'll get it straight to your inbox. Otherwise on all the podcast places. (Apple, iHeart, Spotify, etc)

Listen now (53 min) | ...and when the house is on fire, is it too late to talk about sustainability? (find out below)

13/10/2021

06/09/2021

Newsletter this morning! Awareness is the theme for this week 👋⁠
⁠
Here is what I learned this week:⁠
⁠
This week I learned about awareness. A few things happened to help me realize that yes, still, I see through the glass darkly. Fair, I’m a rather earnest human trying for awareness.⁠
By the end of the week I felt like screaming: “Just tell me who the good guys are; who the bad guys are!”⁠
Of course: there are no good guys, no bad guys. Just a bunch of humans trying our best and making mistakes. And then a few, very few, who likely need to be told to quiet down a bit so the rest of us can sort things out*.⁠
The most exciting piece in this awareness puzzle was my (wild and precious) conversation with my cousin, author of many books but the one we set out to discuss is: Hillybilly Nationals, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power.⁠
(the funny caveat to those who need to quiet down a bit? The ones who need to quiet down will always think everyone else needs to quiet down. The ones who actually *don’t need to quiet down will immediately think we’re talking about them, and quiet down.)⁠
⁠
👉 Subscribe at https://newsletter.underbel.li/
⁠

09/06/2021

07/06/2021

Balance - 10 Things Newsletter
newsletter.underbel.li/issues/underbelly-10-things-balance-646402
(curious if this link is slow to open for others in firefox?

04/06/2021

Considering "sticks and stones can break your bones but words can break your heart"

What word should I chose to capture that theme for next week?

02/06/2021

I'm editing my conversation with Emily Morrison for our podcast . Holy cow folks.

I can't wait for Thursday.

Wendy: I think we can work slowly, take steps toward a society where you're like, Hey, this person is a valued member of our work community. And we're going to hold on to them

Emily Morisson: And we have to allow people to be human. Yes.

Wendy: Yes.

Emily Morisson: I, understand, you have a given amount of sick time.

You have a given amount of vacation time but there has to be room to be human. And that goes beyond just mental illness. There's so many other things we ended up just having to suck up and deal with. The more trauma informed an environment is the more people actually thrive.

Wendy: Yes.

📸: Cosiela Borta on Unsplash

30/01/2021

Newest Episode: Refresh - a great, inception-level conversation with Reena Friedman Watts about storytelling, with a real, bonafide storytelling ju**ie. Lessons learned: Fail better, courage, vanquishing, acceptance. Uplifting!
Listen at Wild and Precious Conversations wherever you listen to podcasts or at:
https://underbelly.substack.com/p/refresh-conversation-with-reena-friedman?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

18/01/2021

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮❜𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭

“Stagecoach Mary” or “Black Mary,” as she was nicknamed, carried a rifle and a revolver. She met trains with mail, then drove her stagecoach over rocky, rough roads and through snow and inclement weather. And though she intimidated would-be thieves with her height and her tough demeanor, she became beloved by locals, who praised her generosity and her kindness to children.
When she died on December 5, 1914, her funeral was one of the largest the town had ever seen.”

What a prime example of playing the hell out of the hand you are dealt.

None of us has been dealt an ideal hand. We've all got to learn to use what we have to the best of our abilities.

Hero: Mary Fields — Postmaster

𝑾𝒉𝒚❓ “This tough reputation ended up paying off. In 1895, she got a contract from the postal service to become a star route carrier—an independent contractor who carried mail using a stagecoach donated by Mother Amadeus. It suited Fields to a tee. As a star carrier, her job was to protect the mail on her route from thieves and bandits and to deliver mail. She was only the second woman in the United States (and the first African American woman) to serve in that role.

“Stagecoach Mary” or “Black Mary,” as she was nicknamed, carried a rifle and a revolver. She met trains with mail, then drove her stagecoach over rocky, rough roads and through snow and inclement weather. And though she intimidated would-be thieves with her height and her tough demeanor, she became beloved by locals, who praised her generosity and her kindness to children.

For eight years, Fields protected and delivered the mail. Eventually age caught up to her and she retired. The community rallied to support her, despite occasional dust-ups with neighbors. Local restaurateurs gave her free meals; saloon regulars chatted with her until bars became forbidden to woman due to a town ordinance. When she died on December 5, 1914, her funeral was one of the largest the town had ever seen.”

https://underbelly.substack.com/p/renewal-10-things?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

#58 in a series of wild and precious things to feed your soul

15/01/2021

I am going to put a thought out here:
Let's have compassion for the people acting like a**es.
Let's continue to call people out, lovingly, for what we see as their ragged edges.
And then let's listen?
And when we meet resistance, let's pause and reflect.
We can still condemn behaviors we find appalling.
We can still feel all our feelings.
We can still dismantle broken systems. We can still hope for a kinder, more loving world.
What am I missing?

14/01/2021

Are you ready to change your perception a little? Latest Wild and Precious podcast episode is up now "Perception: Conversation with Stan Smith"
https://underbelly.substack.com/p/perception-conversation-with-stan?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

14/01/2021

Editing our latest podcast episode. Learned yet still more about sound editing :) because honestly, I feel a huge obligation to get these voices out there -- this one, with Stan Smith, adjunct professor of social work at USC is worth a few minutes of your time. Here's a quick preview:

11/01/2021

https://underbelly.substack.com/p/perception-10-things?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew

📸 David Hertle on Unsplash

08/01/2021

I just heard this while listening to my new favorite podcast "You're Wrong About"
I love this - my motto for 2021. Thank you, Sarah Marshall.

07/01/2021

Persist. What new habit are you working at?

04/01/2021

Persist. Same path, new day.
I honestly think there was a muse involved in this newsletter because I really wasn't feeling it as I began writing.
(Can you guess what this is a picture of?)
https://underbelly.substack.com/p/persistence-10-things?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

28/12/2020

Resilience — "This week, once you have written down and acknowledged your adversity, begin to keep a written log book of hope. Hope is the beginning of resilience.
Notice that flower, that kind word, that sunset, that moon. Notice people who are kind. Begin to home in on kindness — seek it out. Give a little, even when you feel like it’s such a precious resource that if you give your last bit of kindness it’ll all be gone.

It won’t — That’s not how kindness works. "

Check out the newsletter this week for a dose of resilience.

https://underbelly.substack.com/p/resilience-10-things-aac?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

17/12/2020

Joy! Listen now — Anna Katarina speaks with me about singing — Why singing is a wonderful way to access our emotions and be fully alive in this world.
Also — Rumour Mill, the band created by Aline Daigle and Anna Katarina plays live(stream) tomorrow via the Capitol Theatre — link in show notes.
https://underbelly.substack.com/p/joy-conversation-with-anna-katarina?r=al2r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

14/12/2020

https://underbelly.substack.com/p/joy-10-things
"The drive toward joy is the drive toward life" Ingrid Fetell Lee
🌈🎯

14/12/2020

Joy!