Sher and Jo, age 51 take a walk around a lake on a cold day in February to talk about how Jo’s life has been transforming. Jo reveals painful memories from childhood and shares the struggles of being a transgendered person trying to transition to her identifying gender.

Episode 5 Jo

Welcome to Walking the Mosaic: A Collective of Human Lives.  You might be wondering why I collect life experiences of everyday people, rather than inspirational, heroic, adventure, mystery, or other genres of stories. To start with I should begin by explaining to you why I love the fight scenes in the Bridget Jones movies.  I’ve watched the Bridget Jones movies a half dozen times over the years and the fight scenes between Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy never disappoint me. Messily choreographed, two would-be warriors battle it out over Bridget, rolling out pent up male emotion in all it’s ridiculous glory. All the while verbal jabs cushion the physical ones as comic relief. I never thought I’d enjoy watching a fight and most times I don’t. I’ve been known to look away, take a pee break, head to the kitchen for a snack or check the weather app on my phone. But damned if I don’t enjoy every second of Darcy-Cleaver battle. There’s something about it that’s so satisfying.  We live in such a sculpted culture that I find myself drawn to the seemingly ridiculous because it does feel more like the reality human beings actually experience. Events are often limited to the sound bite, tweet, or pithy comment. Movies, sitcoms, reality shows, and 24 hours news create echoes of what we think life should be like: cutaways to the drama or happy ending.  But to live life as a human being is to experience existence as one of the most complex organisms on the planet. Our life cycles can be extremely long and involve significant decisions that can’t be described as instinctual anymore. No other sentient creature on Earth grapples with more daily choices about how or who they are meant to be than a human. Our existence is viewed through lenses that are shaped by our own perception of events and influenced by how we perceive others view us.  So the story of what it’s been like to be you, the moments you occupied and how you chose to live them creates a mosaic of the human life which for me is one of the most generous things you can share human to human. Footnote: I treat these stories as the raw stuff of our existence. So to preserve the fidelity of what’s been shared in this podcast series, the recordings are unscripted and lightly edited. No effort is made to develop a predetermined outcome for dramatic effect or support any particular agenda or ideology. My reactions to each story are comprised of a couple minutes of commentary, but keep in mind they are my own perceptions which have been molded and shaped by my own walk.

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Welcome to Walking the Mosaic: A Collective of Human Lives. You might be wondering why I collect life experiences of everyday people, rather than inspirational, heroic, adventure, mystery, or other genres of stories. To start with I should begin by explaining to you why I love the fight scenes in the Bridget Jones movies. I’ve watched the Bridget Jones movies a half dozen times over the years and the fight scenes between Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy never disappoint me. Messily choreographed, two would-be warriors battle it out over Bridget, rolling out pent up male emotion in all it’s ridiculous glory. All the while verbal jabs cushion the physical ones as comic relief. I neverthought I’d enjoy watching a fight and most times I don’t. I’ve been known to look away, take a pee break, head to the kitchen for a snack or check the weather app on my phone. But damned if I don’t enjoy every second of Darcy-Cleaver battle. There’s something about it that’s so satisfying. We live in such a sculpted culture that I find myself drawn to the seemingly ridiculous because it does feel more like the reality human beings actually experience. Events are often limited to the sound bite, tweet, or pithy comment. Movies, sitcoms, reality shows, and 24 hours news create echoes of what we think life should be like: cutaways to the drama or happy ending. But to live life as a human being is to experience existence as one of the most complex organisms on the planet. Our life cycles can be extremely long and involve significant decisions that can’t be described as instinctual anymore. No other sentient creature on Earth grapples with more daily choices about how or who they are meant to be than a human. Our existence is viewed through lenses that are shaped by our own perception of events and influenced by how we perceive others view us. So the story of what it’s been like to be you, the moments you occupied and how you chose to live them creates a mosaic of the human life which for me is one of the most generous things you can share human to human.Footnote:I treat these stories as the raw stuff of our existence. So to preserve the fidelity of what’s been shared in this podcast series, the recordings are unscripted and lightly edited. No effort is made to develop a predetermined outcome for dramatic effect or support any particular agenda or ideology. My reactions to each story are comprised of a couple minutes of commentary, but keep in mind they are my own perceptions which havebeen molded and shaped by my own walk.

Welcome to Walking the Mosaic: A Collective of Human Lives.&nbsp; You might be wondering why I collect life experiences of everyday people,&nbsp;rather than inspirational, heroic, adventure, mystery, or other genres of&nbsp;stories. To start with I should begin by explaining to you why I love the&nbsp;fight scenes in the Bridget Jones movies.&nbsp; I’ve watched the Bridget Jones movies a half dozen times over the years&nbsp;and the fight scenes between Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy never&nbsp;disappoint me. Messily choreographed, two would-be warriors battle it out&nbsp;over Bridget, rolling out pent up male emotion in all it’s ridiculous glory.&nbsp;All the while verbal jabs cushion the physical ones as comic relief. I never thought I’d enjoy watching a fight and most times I don’t. I’ve been known&nbsp;to look away, take a pee break, head to the kitchen for a snack or check&nbsp;the weather app on my phone. But damned if I don’t enjoy every second of&nbsp;Darcy-Cleaver battle. There’s something about it that’s so satisfying.&nbsp; We live in such a sculpted culture that I find myself drawn to the seemingly&nbsp;ridiculous because it does feel more like the reality human beings actually&nbsp;experience. Events are often limited to the sound bite, tweet, or pithy&nbsp;comment. Movies, sitcoms, reality shows, and 24 hours news create&nbsp;echoes of what we think life should be like: cutaways to the drama or&nbsp;happy ending.&nbsp; But to live life as a human being is to experience existence as one of the&nbsp;most complex organisms on the planet. Our life cycles can be extremely&nbsp;long and involve significant decisions that can’t be described as instinctual&nbsp;anymore. No other sentient creature on Earth grapples with more daily&nbsp;choices about how or who they are meant to be than a human. Our&nbsp;existence is viewed through lenses that are shaped by our own perception&nbsp;of events and influenced by how we perceive others view us.&nbsp; So the story of what it’s been like to be you, the moments you occupied&nbsp;and how you chose to live them creates a mosaic of the human life which&nbsp;for me is one of the most generous things you can share human to human. Footnote: I treat these stories as the raw stuff of our existence. So to preserve the&nbsp;fidelity of what’s been shared in this podcast series, the recordings are&nbsp;unscripted and lightly edited. No effort is made to develop a predetermined&nbsp;outcome for dramatic effect or support any particular agenda or ideology.&nbsp;My reactions to each story are comprised of a couple minutes of&nbsp;commentary, but keep in mind they are my own perceptions which have been molded and shaped by my own walk.

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Episode 5 Jo

Episode 5 Jo