Wisdom from Normal People

The wisdom from our stories.

Megan is one of life's ebullient woman, bursting with energy and ideas; and a fierce determination for her family to squeeze everything they can out of life.

And that is what this podcast is about. Life. A life changing event in 2017 ripped the soul out of her spirit. She's learning each day to live with the visceral sense that all that she has -which brings her unbridled joy - is balanced on a finely tuned precipice.

This podcast has a very real sense of Megan before the event and Megan dealing with life after the event. It's a gripping listen and a conversation which taught me a lot, reminding me not to make judgements of anyone because just under the surface they could be dealing with a very challenging array of emotions.

There's so much wisdom in Megans story.

Hana has grown up in a multi heritage home. Pakistan and Ireland, with the UK as her home base. As she asks, where is her path, split between two countries whose traditions and expectations can appear to be contradictions of each other?

Growing up has been the hardest part, but now in her mid 20's she's learning to embrace the messiness of it all.

Come with us on a beautiful cultural journey where together we explore the grey area that this generation can feel like they're falling between and wonder about the value of old school eastern traditions over the western clamour for equality and individualism.

I'm so grateful for Hana to join me in this conversation. It's such an important one and told so beautifully by Hana. Spoiler alert. Listen out for the accountability request - Hana wants to create a platform to hold space for others like her to navigate their dilemmas and find their feet.

Life flows. Life wants life. And yet we can all get this feeling of stuckness where our flow grinds to a halt.

This is the essence of my vivid conversation with Systemic Constellation Coach, Soumya Karkera, whose work centres around releasing stuckness by drawing on the wisdom from the systems that orbit around our family. Be they living or even not living - our ancestors.

"Each of us have experiences that other human beings have gone through - maybe not in our life time - stored in our bodies as memories."

Soumya explains with eloquent beauty how we could all move through problems through an inexplicable process that speaks to our trapped ancestral wisdom.

I just DEVOURED this conversation. It put into words a feeling I have always had, but didn't understand. Could it have the same impact on you?

What does it take to fight for premature babies? To fight for their lives; to fight for budgets to improve their outcomes; to fight for your corner in a healthcare system littered with priorities; to fight to get parents as involved in their babies care, as the pediatric nurses are. Meet Laura, former Consultant Neonatologist at St Georges Hospital, Tooting.

She is one phenomenal woman. This is the story of someone on the front line with raw loving care and an unapologetic determination to ensure every single premature baby has the best chance of leaving the hospital with a full 'normal' life ahead.

It's not been easy, but, I'm telling you, it's because of Laura's fierce commitment and love, that many babies now, not just in St Georges University Hospital, but around the Country, will have better outcomes.

I was blown away but our conversation. When I pressed 'stop' I walked away from the laptop repeating over and over again. 'that was incredible, that was incredible, that was incredible'.

We both got a little bit emotional in our conversation. I mean, I'm even welling up now thinking about it. But the tears reveal what it takes from your soul to get young lives across the line. We also talk about what Laura has decided to do next. I'm left feeling that thank God, there are women like Laura in his world. Humanity restored.

#neonatal #prematurebabies #premature #prem #nhs #stgeorgeshospital #caminotrail #caminodesantiago #tooting #southlondon #neonatalward

Listen. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Martin is a complete one off. You have to listen to him. I know Martin as an invigorating, persuasive and emphatic Coach who 100% wants the best for everyone and wants that for himself too. He has such big curiosity about how to make each and every day better. His spirit and energy is infectious and he's just about to embark on a huge new journey, one that he's waited for, for the longest time. And it's not been easy to play by the rules. But he's had to. You'll get loads of sharp, passionate insight from Martin here that emanates straight from his big fat Czech heart. I can't wait for you all to listen.

If you're curious about Spoken Word, Playwriting or getting started with a new creative career, Sian's story will inspire you. Her career as an Educator was full of passion and commitment, championing those who's young voices go unheard. Then when it all came to an abrupt end, Sian combined her love of writing, with turning that same passion towards others, who's voices can also be ignored, overlooked or unseen.

She began by blogging about the injustice she saw in the Education system, and realised her audience wanted more were sticking around. So, she expanded her repertoire and now writes plays, and performs poetry and has so much wisdom to share with us about her journey and insights from two very different, yet connected worlds. Enjoy listening to Sian's story everybody. There is so much gold in her words!

Annette's story will inspire. She's had a full life, split into three parts. From compliance and compromised to, retraining and breaking through as Lawyer. Not an easy journey by any stretch and now acting, singing and fully participating in a life that she didn't dare to dream she could have. She made it all happen.

I love being around Annette and it was an honour to listen to her full life story. Her zest for life and love of people shines through and is totally infectious.

Juliet is an absolute one off. A joyous creative, fun, rebellious, freedom seeker. She see the world through 'art eyes', enjoying and relishing the small, left field things in life like a beetle on the pavement or a line on the road. Come and listen to how she can access an unbridled sense of freedom through her wonderful creative thought processes.

Colin was broken. He was living his life as an addict or, in his words, "as an Ego with an inferiority complex". But being broken led him to take a significant life changing step. He chose to accept help. Now, his life, post addiction and post pain has been one of peace, grace, and humility.

The wonderful wise insights Colin shared with me about his journey to recovery and how he now helps others who walk in his shoes is so illuminating and for me helped me to understand some simple truths about life. I truly loved this episode. Forever learning from others.

Please meet Paulette Ragan. She is a beautiful, fun, stoic, creative, gritty, determined, unique woman who’s reflections on her life reveal a roadmap of learned wisdom that, step by step, enabled her to deal with some really big personal challenges, face on. Yes there is a pun there.

Through her many years of nursing out in the community, caring for refugees among other marginalised groups, her stories of people at the edge of life and at real points of need will move you.

You’re going to be taken on a journey, beginning with getting your hands in dirt to the power of community; how all our journeys to authenticity begins with acceptance and getting real; and her big personal challenge with beating the lifelong emotional and physical scourge of eczema with tropical steroid withdrawal, to finally the joyous and the unbridled freedom in creativity.

So, so much widsom contained in the precious minutes that unfold in this conversation.