I introduce Uplifted as a podcast where I share stories about life experiences that lead to insights about better ways of living.
I tell a story about how my childhood shyness limited me in making friends. Once I began reaching out more to others I became a happier person. This story sums up the theme of the podcast - becoming mindful or aware of the ways our thoughts, habits and fears limit us.
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Hello and welcome to Uplifted. My name is Meg Luther Lindholm and I’ll be your guide on this journey towards living a more mindful, compassionate and happier life. That’s a tall order, I realize. But my hope is that over time you will begin to feel some shifts occurring in your mind, body and spirit.
I’ll start each episode with a story about a life experience that has diminished my happiness in some way. The hinge that opens the door to something better is an insight - an awareness that says that what I’m doing or how I’m reacting is habitual or mindless and ultimately not helpful.
And that there are better ways to live.
I want to be clear that I’m not promoting myself here as a wisdom leader. There are plenty of wonderful wisdom guides out there for you to learn from. Rather, I’m in the mud of this messy life with you and I’m trying to learn from my mistakes. My hope is that you’ll pick up some insights for your life along the way.
So, to get the ball rolling I’ll start by telling you a story of personal change – of moving from point A to point B in my life which couldn’t have happened without the slow simmer of evolving awareness. You see when I was a girl, I was very shy. I didn’t raise my hand in class. And I was fearful about making the first move towards friendship with other kids. My mother once told me that she’d bring a bag full of toys to the sandbox with me when I was little. The other kids would take them and go off to play with them. Over time, I came to feel invisible. The less I reached out to others the more I came to feel that no one was interested in me. I didn’t know it at the time, but my shy withdrawal initiated a negative feedback loop. I couldn’t see my own role in my invisibility. I thought people were choosing to ignore me.
We all have these unconscious or barely conscious negative feedback loops and behaviors that lead us to feeling disconnected with ourselves and from others. It took years for me to realize that if I wanted people to be my friends, then I needed to be the one to reach out. I had to step out on a limb and out of my comfort zone to make the first move. And once I did that, I began to enjoy my life a lot more.
So here we’ve started down the path of learning to live life better. Along the way, I’ll talk to people with stories to share from their own lives. I’ll also bring in the insights I gain through the practice of meditation. And I’ll seek out the wisdom of others.
I hope you’ll continue on the path towards greater mindfulness and positive change with me. Next time on Uplifted I’ll talk about three little words that can make a world of difference in getting along better with people we just don’t see eye to eye with
Thank you for joining me on this first step of the journey that I call Uplifted. I’m Meg Luther Lindholm. You can find this podcast at Upliftedpodcast.com or wherever you find your podcasts. Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.