Episode theme: rest
“To be sane is to rest. Many of us have lost jobs, cancelled travel, and cleared schedules--and yet true rest remains elusive. Our challenges is finding rest for ourselves and our planet, even in a turbulent time. —Laura Joyce Davis
Episode 73: the life-changing magic of spacing out
“I grew up in a house where work was the default mode, where sitting idle was a thing to be corrected.”
As social bubbles form and expand, each day continues to have challenges we didn't anticipate. Sometimes, the answer is to push through. But sometimes, the answer is to do absolutely nothing.
Episode transcript
Episode 61: do not be afraid
“What you feed yourself drives whether you're going to be cynical or whether you're going to be hopeful. I want to create art that people will come back to that will drive them towards the hopeful as opposed to the cynical.”
Laura talks with Nashville Singer-Songwriter Christopher Williams about how making music for twenty-five years has taught him how to not be afraid--even when everything around us is crumbling.
Episode transcript
Episode 28: TGIF
“Sometimes we ignore the signs [of depression], or we don’t think it’s serious until we’re overwhelmed. Knowing when we need to replenish ourselves, physically and emotionally … helps us bounce back from stress and become resilient.”
One of the strangest things about this time of sheltering in place is that every day feels exactly the same. Laura explores why this sameness is so troubling, and why we need the days of the week more than we realize.
Episode transcript
Episode 51: rest
“I had to think hard about what rest means for me right now, in this time when it’s not possible to get a babysitter and go out on a date, or splurge for a massage, or even to sleep in.”
Two months in, Laura reflects on the challenges of starting a project with no planning--a challenge that mirrors life during COVID-19. She takes a good friend's advice to figure out what rest means right now, and finds it in some places she didn't expect.
Episode transcript
Episode 27: lessons from the trail
“By the time we were up over the pass, my foot was hurting. It was only day one and I couldn’t imagine five more days of the same.”
Last summer, Laura and a friend fulfilled a longstanding dream to unplug from their overfull lives and backpack a section of the John Muir Trail. The trip was ill-timed in many ways--but it ended up being exactly what they needed. Laura shares stories from the trail, wisdom from Cheryl Strayed, and what the experience taught her about living in quarantine now.
Episode transcript
Episode 14: the new normal
"Where you put your attention is where your emotions will follow. Changing your focus can change your experience."
With the news that schools will not reopen for the rest of the year, Laura considers what it means for us to settle into a new normal that is uncertain and ever-changing, and where so many things are out of our control. She draws from a conversation with Dr. James Furrow to figure out how to become more resilient and adapt to this new normal.
Episode transcript
Episode 30: the sabbatical year
“What would it look like in Capitalist America if we lived like that? If instead of continually making more money and getting more stuff, lived in the rhythms of rest and service.”
Laura tells the story of how the idea for a sabbatical year has shaped the last 17 years of her and her family's life--and how all that has changed with COVID-19.
Episode transcript
Episode 15: social media distancing
“I grasp at the small hits of alerts-induced dopamine and squirrel them away into my Human Contact tank. But I think I’ve realized that I’m not filling up the right tank.”
Social distancing has made us more reliant on social media than ever--and also more susceptible to its pitfalls. Laura reflects on the changes in her own life around social media during this time, and features work from Anya Marchenko, Keyonna Summers, and Sherry Turkle.
Episode transcript
Episode 13: one more day
“The conscious and unconscious creation of expectations have revealed themselves in what feels like one fell swoop. What I’m left with is a jarring reckoning with myself. A gratitude for this reckoning.”
Two weeks into the Bay Area Shelter in Place Mandate, Laura reflects on the ways her family's life has changed, and shares the insights from her friend Arathi Ravier, whose essay on this time captures the pushes and pulls of this new life against the one we left behind.
Episode transcript