Breathing Wind

"When we give ourselves some space to just be, that's where those quiet little moments [of joy] can pop up alongside the grief."

• Lindsay Joy Taylor

In this bonus episode, Sarah talks with Lindsay Joy Taylor, grief advocate and founder of The Joyful Jewelry Box, about her mom, inspiration behind the remembrance jewelry she creates, Mother’s Day and toxic positivity.

The Joyful Jewelry Box is memorial jewelry to honor loved ones and keep their memories alive. When Lindsay was only 13 months old, her mom was killed. Now she keeps her mom’s memory alive by making remembrance jewelry and providing community grief support. She also writes and speaks to normalize grief and raise awareness about the lifelong impact of traumatic loss.

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“Out there, we are not our Mercedes or our home or our job or our degrees. We are just us. And it's enough.”

Karen Najarian

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Inner and Outer Wilderness, hosted by Duncan Cheung. The Inner and Outer Wilderness miniseries explores the wonderment of and between the wilderness out there and within each of us.

In this episode, Duncan talks with Dr Rick and Karen Najarian about the full expansiveness and joy of the wilderness, Karen's experience as a guide and the power of reflective joy her students experienced, the important distinction between sage versus teacher, and how to model comfort in a place and time that is otherwise uncomfortable.

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“So, in the pursuit of healing, joy is kind of a natural byproduct of that for me. But it takes a tremendous amount of work and awareness to recognize joy when it's present, because it's not always sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and hippie dippy stuff. Sometimes joy is just the absence of despair, that can feel tremendous — especially coming out of these really deep, dark and long periods — where it just feels like slog of moving through things to just be on the other side of pain. Just the absence of that despair and confusion can feel like joy, and can give us clues in our body as to like what it feels like to be in that space.”

- Sydney Williams

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Inner and Outer Wilderness, hosted by Duncan Cheung. The Inner and Outer Wilderness miniseries explores the wonderment of and between the wilderness out there and within each of us.

In this episode, Duncan talks with Sydney Williams, founder of Hiking My Feelings, about how her inner and outer wilderness experience moved her to form a nonprofit dedicated to helping people heal through hiking.

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"Be fully there. Breathe it in, listen to what the winds have to say. What the birds have to say, what the water has to say, and (this sounds so crunchy granola) it really boils down to that simple thing: it's just being there. And when I'm there, I'm here. I'm fully present in the moment, in time and in space. And when I sit after a long, grueling hike, and I sit whether it's next to a beautiful lake, sunny weather, cloudless skies, or if it's hailing and storming above me, and I'm back with hail pellets, stuck at 11,000 feet on an unexposed ridge with thunder and lightning around me, I feel connected, I feel that I get to be a living thing in the vastness of the wilderness. And it starts to put things into context for me.“

Duncan Cheung

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Inner and Outer Wilderness, hosted by Duncan Cheung. The Inner and Outer Wilderness miniseries explores the wonderment of and between the wilderness out there and within each of us.

In this episode, Sarah Davis talks with Duncan Cheung about some of the foundational concepts covered in his miniseries.

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"The undercurrent of the Camino is pilgrimage; it's walking in some spiritual way and being willing to rely on the kindness and support of others. You're removed from everything that you know. It's not your language, it's not your home, it's not your community. It's not your anything. And yet you put yourself in that situation, expecting that there will be some sort of transformation, change, shift, or whatever that comes from this endeavor.”

Diane Wyzga

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Diane Wyzga, a podcaster, story strategizer and communication consultant about the Camino, the pilgrimage and spiritual aspect of it, as well as its ability to connect and provide refuge.

• How walking the Camino can teach you about yourself

• Sarah’s journey through grief on the Camino

• Diane’s learnings on the Camino

• The concept of pilgrimage and how it relates to life

• How they found support while walking

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“Chemo was really hard. But there were really good days too – they weren't the best feeling healthy days – but there was something that happened on those days. You suddenly have the shift in perspective of appreciating the smallest things, because when you have something that's knocking you, sideways, weekly – I was having chemo every week for 12 weeks – when you have a good moment, the world is more colorful, and everything becomes more incredible. And I got to push my kids on a swing and I was out of bed! All those things become just what living is all about.”

- Carly Moosah

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Carly Moosah about her mom’s cancer diagnosis and then coming to terms with her own, her perspective on joy in the midst of cancer treatment, and advice she provides for others undergoing cancer treatment. Carly is the co-founder of www.keepemquiet.com, a writer/blogger, breast cancer advocate & survivor, and mum of two. She’s based out of London.

Carly and Sarah talk about:

• Carly’s family history of breast cancer and her mother's experience
• Carly’s fear of cancer and how she shifted her perception toward that of fascination
• How she speaks to her kids about cancer, versus how her mom spoke to her
• Cancer’s warrior mode
• Carly’s advice for listeners 

Related resources:

• Carly’s Instagram
• Carly’s Linktr.ee
• Carly’s interview on The Motherless
• Mum Guilt, article in Future Dreams by Carly
• Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe

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“The joy was not just in the simple stuff — like a good cup of coffee and being being mindful and present — but experiencing joy, looking for joy, and having a hand in it. And knowing that does not have to be completed necessarily by somebody validating it.”

-Dr. Jason Ridler

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Dr. Jason Ridler (Dr. Jay) about the act of writing as a way to process by doing, how his grief transformed his relationship to writing, and how he connected back to the joy of why he became a writer in the first place. Dr. Jay is an historian, writer, and teacher of creative writing who has worked for such clients as Johns Hopkins University, Google, and the US Naval Academy, among others. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Dr. Jay remains a loyal but critical form of professional wrestling.

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Colleen Stobbe

This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Colleen Stobbe about model yacht sailing, grief and how she came to empathize with Sarah during her loss, and transition of club members after they’ve left this earth. Colleen is a retired bilingual elementary teacher for 22 years and a mentor of beginning teachers for 10 years. Retirement from education allowed her to participate more in the San Francisco Model Yacht Club (SFMYC) in Golden Gate Park, sailing free-sail boats along with serving three years as Vice Commodore. She just finished serving five years as Commodore, the first woman to be elected to that position in the SFMYC. She's looking forward to being a full time grandmother, who will still sail free-sail and support the SFMYC in a variety of ways. 

Colleen and Sarah talk about:

• [3:30] Model yachts
• [10:44] Memorial service for members
• [14:55] Colleen’s personal experience with early parent loss
• [20:14] Sarah’s dad’s experience in the association

Related resources:

• San Francisco Model Yacht Club (SFMYC)
• MY #175 (Model Yachting Magazine issue covering the SFMYC)
• 100 Years of Model Boating (Book colleen recommended)

"Joy is who we are when our hearts are at their wildest. It's the integration between our doing and our being."

- Duncan Cheung

"Humor has always allowed me to get closer to my grief, explore it, and better understand it by creating a gateway into the hard feelings that isn't so scary, so heavy. And when I'm deep in my grief, humor lets me come up for air, and then go even deeper." 

- Dara Kosberg

"Happiness comes from the things that happen to us. But joy, I believe, is a state of being that we can nurture from within."

- Naila Francis

"Joy takes into account the full spectrum of feelings. Joy is the both /and. In other words, joy can be felt at any time for any reason with other emotions like grief. Joy is a release, Joy is living in flow."

-Sarah Davis

This is the official trailer for Season Three. Join Breathing Wind guests-turned-hosts, Dara Kosberg (episode 09) and Naila Francis (episode 38), as well as newcomer Duncan Cheung and Season One host Sarah Davis (episode 00) for a conversation on joy. During Season 3, we will talk with people who give us joy, including comedy experts, wilderness guides, and writers to discuss joy and grief.

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This season, four hosts covered healing from very different perspectives. This episode is a compilation of a few conversations they held.

Wendy Rolón, death doula and bereavement counselor, hosted the first mini-series called “Transforming Grief.” The guest featured in this episode is Christine Kovach, bereavement counselor with Mission Hospice. In their episode, they covered grief counseling, healing through expressive arts, and the hope she sees in her work. 

Ken Breniman, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, certified yoga therapist, plant medicine integration specialist and a thanatologist, hosted the next mini-series called “Meaning making, Mortality and Medicine.” The guests featured in this episode are musicians Madeleine Bachan Kaur and Dave Koz. In their episodes, they covered memories, parent loss and continuing bonds.

Deborah Szeto, ICU and palliative care nurse, hosted a mini-series titled “Embrace Death, Live Life.” The guests featured in this episode are Deborah Szeto and Naila Francis, death midwife. In their episodes, they discussed their motivations and inspiration behind the work they do.

Sarah Davis hosted a mini-series titled “Caregiving Journey.” The guest featured in this episode is Jenn Chan, founder of Senior Shower Project. In their episode, Jenn talked about her grandma and the inspiration behind holding parties for caregivers.

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