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When Your Body Speaks and You Have to Listen
Episode Title: When Your Body Speaks and You Have to Listen: Navigating Aging, Illness, and Uncertain Futures
Episode Description: In this deeply personal and reflective episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares her meditation on aging, physical limitations, and the courage required to face an uncertain future. While recovering from diverticulitis, Laura examines what it means when a lifetime of manifesting, creating, and teaching collides with a body that insists on rest. Through a pivotal conversation with her friend Colleen about retirement and the profound realization that "I couldn't commit to feeling good in the future," Laura explores the shift from doing to being, from planning to presence, and from certainty to embracing the unknown.
What Laura Covers in This Episode:
The physical and emotional challenges of recovering from diverticulitis while preparing to teach an upcoming memoir retreat
A transformative conversation with her friend Colleen about retirement, aging, and listening to your body's wisdom
The profound shift from a lifetime of saying "yes" and showing up no matter what, to acknowledging physical limitations
How four decades of teaching, creating, and manifesting has given way to a new relationship with uncertainty
The parallel between personal health challenges and collective uncertainty in our current political moment
Finding meaning and connection in the present moment when the future becomes unplannable
Sending "love songs" to both a broken body and a broken world as an act of resilience and compassion
Episode Highlights
The Maestro of Manifestation: Laura reflects on decades of community building, teaching, and creating—describing herself as someone who has brought together "hearts, bodies, souls, words, stories, community" with both effort and ease, making things happen simply by breathing in and out.
Colleen's Retirement Journey: Laura shares how she's witnessed her friend Colleen, a gifted IFS therapist and trainer, navigate four years of retirement—watching fear transform into freedom and doing give way to spaciousness as Colleen let go of her "big-S self."
The Sentence That Changed Everything: During a FaceTime conversation about gut problems and teaching anxieties, Colleen reveals a truth she'd never shared before: "That was a big part of why I retired. I couldn't commit to feeling good in the future."
A Lifetime of Showing Up: Laura chronicles forty years of never hesitating to say yes to commitments, teaching through bronchitis, COVID, exhaustion, anxiety, jetlag, and family crises—always counting on herself to perform and be present.
The Road of Uncertainty: Edging toward seventy, Laura describes envisioning "a scant calendar" and "a different kind of journey"—one that is unplanned, unpromised, unscheduled, and deeply rooted in the unknown.
Present Moment Politics: Laura draws a parallel between her personal health journey and the collective experience since Trump's return to power, noting how daily conversations now focus on being okay "at this moment" and "right now."
Simple Pleasures as Anchors: In the face of an unplannable future—both personally and for her new grandson entering the world—Laura finds grounding in sun, trees, friendship, walks in the woods, and her dog's wagging tail.
Love Songs to Brokenness: Laura concludes with a commitment to send love songs to both her belly "that can no longer digest the things of this world" and to "this broken world"—an act of compassion she can still offer from where she is.
About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers through the transformative process of memoir and personal narrative. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021. As a master teacher, Laura has helped thousands of writers find their voice and tell their stories with courage and authenticity.
She leads writing workshops, classes, and international retreats, creating sacred spaces where writers can explore their deepest truths. Laura's work focuses on the intersection of craft, healing, and personal transformation, making her a trusted guide for writers navigating both the page and their lives.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Honor Your Body's Wisdom - When your body insists you stop and listen, there is profound wisdom in surrendering to its messages rather than pushing through with willpower alone.
Redefine Success Beyond Doing - A lifetime of manifesting, creating, and teaching can evolve into a new relationship with being present, allowing spaciousness to replace constant doing.
Accept the Unplannable Future - Acknowledging "I can't commit to feeling good in the future" is not defeat—it's an honest reckoning with aging, health, and the uncertainty inherent in being human.
Find Anchors in Simple Pleasures - When the future becomes uncertain, grounding yourself in present-moment joys—sun, trees, friendship, connection—becomes an essential practice of resilience.
Send Love to Brokenness - Whether it's a body that can no longer digest the world or a world that feels broken, choosing compassion and sending "love songs" is a powerful act you can always offer.
Episode Call-to-Action
If Laura's meditation on aging, uncertainty, and presence resonates with you, take time this week to notice where your body might be asking you to listen. Are there commitments you're making that you can't truly promise to fulfill? What would it mean to embrace this moment exactly as it is? Share your reflections in the comments, and consider how you might send your own "love songs" to whatever feels broken—in your body, your life, or the world around you.
Connect with Laura Davis
Website: https://lauradavis.net/ - Explore Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats
Newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ - Subscribe to The Writer's Journey for essays, writing guidance, poetry, and nature photography
Community: Join Laura's community of writers and receive regular inspiration, practical writing advice, and beautiful curated content
The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.
You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/
Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Laura DavisEpisode Title: When Your Body Speaks and You Have to Listen: Navigating Aging, Illness, and Uncertain Futures
Episode Description: In this deeply personal and reflective episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares her meditation on aging, physical limitations, and the courage required to face an uncertain future. While recovering from diverticulitis, Laura examines what it means when a lifetime of manifesting, creating, and teaching collides with a body that insists on rest. Through a pivotal conversation with her friend Colleen about retirement and the profound realization that "I couldn't commit to feeling good in the future," Laura explores the shift from doing to being, from planning to presence, and from certainty to embracing the unknown.
What Laura Covers in This Episode:
The physical and emotional challenges of recovering from diverticulitis while preparing to teach an upcoming memoir retreat
A transformative conversation with her friend Colleen about retirement, aging, and listening to your body's wisdom
The profound shift from a lifetime of saying "yes" and showing up no matter what, to acknowledging physical limitations
How four decades of teaching, creating, and manifesting has given way to a new relationship with uncertainty
The parallel between personal health challenges and collective uncertainty in our current political moment
Finding meaning and connection in the present moment when the future becomes unplannable
Sending "love songs" to both a broken body and a broken world as an act of resilience and compassion
Episode Highlights
The Maestro of Manifestation: Laura reflects on decades of community building, teaching, and creating—describing herself as someone who has brought together "hearts, bodies, souls, words, stories, community" with both effort and ease, making things happen simply by breathing in and out.
Colleen's Retirement Journey: Laura shares how she's witnessed her friend Colleen, a gifted IFS therapist and trainer, navigate four years of retirement—watching fear transform into freedom and doing give way to spaciousness as Colleen let go of her "big-S self."
The Sentence That Changed Everything: During a FaceTime conversation about gut problems and teaching anxieties, Colleen reveals a truth she'd never shared before: "That was a big part of why I retired. I couldn't commit to feeling good in the future."
A Lifetime of Showing Up: Laura chronicles forty years of never hesitating to say yes to commitments, teaching through bronchitis, COVID, exhaustion, anxiety, jetlag, and family crises—always counting on herself to perform and be present.
The Road of Uncertainty: Edging toward seventy, Laura describes envisioning "a scant calendar" and "a different kind of journey"—one that is unplanned, unpromised, unscheduled, and deeply rooted in the unknown.
Present Moment Politics: Laura draws a parallel between her personal health journey and the collective experience since Trump's return to power, noting how daily conversations now focus on being okay "at this moment" and "right now."
Simple Pleasures as Anchors: In the face of an unplannable future—both personally and for her new grandson entering the world—Laura finds grounding in sun, trees, friendship, walks in the woods, and her dog's wagging tail.
Love Songs to Brokenness: Laura concludes with a commitment to send love songs to both her belly "that can no longer digest the things of this world" and to "this broken world"—an act of compassion she can still offer from where she is.
About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers through the transformative process of memoir and personal narrative. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021. As a master teacher, Laura has helped thousands of writers find their voice and tell their stories with courage and authenticity.
She leads writing workshops, classes, and international retreats, creating sacred spaces where writers can explore their deepest truths. Laura's work focuses on the intersection of craft, healing, and personal transformation, making her a trusted guide for writers navigating both the page and their lives.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Honor Your Body's Wisdom - When your body insists you stop and listen, there is profound wisdom in surrendering to its messages rather than pushing through with willpower alone.
Redefine Success Beyond Doing - A lifetime of manifesting, creating, and teaching can evolve into a new relationship with being present, allowing spaciousness to replace constant doing.
Accept the Unplannable Future - Acknowledging "I can't commit to feeling good in the future" is not defeat—it's an honest reckoning with aging, health, and the uncertainty inherent in being human.
Find Anchors in Simple Pleasures - When the future becomes uncertain, grounding yourself in present-moment joys—sun, trees, friendship, connection—becomes an essential practice of resilience.
Send Love to Brokenness - Whether it's a body that can no longer digest the world or a world that feels broken, choosing compassion and sending "love songs" is a powerful act you can always offer.
Episode Call-to-Action
If Laura's meditation on aging, uncertainty, and presence resonates with you, take time this week to notice where your body might be asking you to listen. Are there commitments you're making that you can't truly promise to fulfill? What would it mean to embrace this moment exactly as it is? Share your reflections in the comments, and consider how you might send your own "love songs" to whatever feels broken—in your body, your life, or the world around you.
Connect with Laura Davis
Website: https://lauradavis.net/ - Explore Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats
Newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ - Subscribe to The Writer's Journey for essays, writing guidance, poetry, and nature photography
Community: Join Laura's community of writers and receive regular inspiration, practical writing advice, and beautiful curated content
The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.
You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/
Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe