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 honoursOn their website it says that their mission is:To build caring, peaceful and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults.And, their vision is: To change the world, child by child.This program has been praised and hailed by authors, world leaders, educators, researchers, such as Dr. Brene Brown, Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Michele Borba, Maria Shriver, The BBC, The Dalai Lama Centre, the Huffington Post and countless others.On this epsiode, you will hear about how this program came to be, what the program actually looks like, why empathy is at the centre of it, what the children learn from this program, and hear about some of the program’s amazing impact.My guest is the program’s Canadian Director, and Director of Curriculum: Julie Lundberg

“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 Clinical Pastoral Education, a Seminary Professor and a trained Spiritual Director. She has a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers. She has also been a health care administrator and a cognitive behavioural therapist. Wow.Christine is a mom of two busy kids and she and her family live on a small farm in New Jersey, with chickens and she is a beekeeper too!I think you will love this episode. Christine is doing some beautiful work in the world, and is helping so many as she “journeys alongside” through different parts of many folks’ lives.Here are links to Christine’s Substack and website: https://substack.com/@christinedavieshttps://www.christinevdavies.com/

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 eyes: “What IS this place?” It was oozing love. You’ll see what I mean.This little hidden gem (which you will hear is not a liked phrase of the folks who run this place), is the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway (FVHR), in Cloverdale, BC. A railway exuding love? YES!It is completely run by volunteers, and I mean committed volunteers who are so happy to be there, that it is remarkable! They are committed to the vision of restoring the railway, telling its history and hopefully expanding its run and reach. Did YOU know there was an electric railway in BC? There was, and it was thriving!My guests are: Stephen Platt, Grace Ducharme, Bard Ducharme and Allen Aubert. You will fall in love with them as I did.Link to Fraser Valley Heritage Railway website:  https://fvhrs.org/

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 choose to help and serve, rather than curl up into a little ball of despair! That takes fortitude and determination and resilience!

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 spend their time this way, and the benefits of hospice care to our loved ones, to those left behind, and perhaps even to those doing the work.

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 Tier 1 Principal’s Research Chair in Leadership, Learning, and Wellbeing. She examines wellbeing from an organizational perspective, paying attention to leadership and work cultures, and her research offers an innovative approach to combatting stress, depletion and burnout at work.Dr. Cherkowski teaches that wellbeing is linked to overall health, and influences learning, creativity, and collaboration, among other qualities necessary for ongoing improvement of leading and teaching.Her work combines theories and processes from positive psychology, positive organisations, professional learning, and change leadership. Dr. Cherkowski received UBC Okanagan’s 2020 Researcher of the Year award for Social Sciences and Humanities in 2020. She is also the Academic Lead for the School’s Doctor of Education program.In short, Sabre Cherkowski has been researching and writing about what it takes to flourish in work and in life, for years. You will see why I see her and her work as a way of spreading love in the world. I think you will love this conversation.

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 do it…. But how do we begin? Are we supposed to forgive everything? Some people say yes. Are all things forgivable?My guest today will talk about forgiveness and the power it has in our lives. She has written a brand-new book on it, and she has written 11 other books actually, some of which reached best seller status. She is an award-winning speaker, trainer, advisor, and entrepreneur, as well. My guest supports people by helping them develop tools and strategies for them to see more possibilities and find joy and freedom in life. Welcome to my guest today, Katharine Giovanni.RESOURCES"The Happiness Advantage" by Shaun Achor: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-happiness-advantage-how-a-positive-brain-fuels-success-in-work-and-life/9780307591555.htmlCONNECT WITH KATHARINE GIOVANNIwebsite: https://katharinegiovanni.com/

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 herself a “Resilience Visionary” and “Burnout Interventionist”. She strives increase compassion and to help people develop the awareness and tools to become their best selves and have more joy in their lives.

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: https://www.opensourcewellness.org/

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 and the Sooke School District, as well as many others.