It's Election Day in the US and one of the ways we love our communities is exercising our right to vote. Since turning eighteen years old, these two have been proudly wearing and sharing their "I VOTED" stickers. Nancy talks about her experience as a poll worker in Downtown Indianapolis and Lynn poses the closing question, "Parade or Protest?" 

Self-care is an expression of self-love.

What is your reaction to this statement? Are you caught in the tension of preferring humility over self-love?

In this episode, we start by busting 5 myths that might prevent us from loving ourselves beyond the everyday basics. Lynn encourages us with the familiar safety instructions given while flying on an airplane, "Attach your oxygen mask first before attempting to help others." We can only give what we have.

In this second season, we are continuing to look at life through a lens of love. And you can't talk about love without acknowledging grief. "Grief is proof of life." Nancy shares a series of guardrails that she uses to help navigate those challenging chapters of life. Not surprisingly, the co-hosts have book recommendations related to the topic!

This conversation isn't a deep dive on social media influencers, though we have our favorites (S/O to Babs, stellar cookbook author, and grandmother extraordinaire). Instead, we look at the truth that we all yield some kind of influence. Are we using it for good? Unfortunately, according to research conducted by Ohio State University's Fisher School of Business, the most common forms of influence lean toward the negative. Can we flip the switch?

Nancy and Lynn have been friends a long time! In this episode they talk about how they met, how they've maintained a close friendship over years and miles, and what qualities they admire in a friend.

An encounter with a truth-teller in the women's locker room at the YMCA has Nancy asking the question, "When do we care what others think of us?" More than focusing on our outward appearance, we touch on ways to live in alignment with our values and accept forgiveness for those sure-to-happen epic fails.

To explore the tension in doing versus being, Nancy tells the story behind her husband's advice of "Don't just do something, stand there." Both Nancy and Lynn suggest reasons why observing from the sidelines might be the right next step, and in that scenario, waiting is a wise choice. Lynn is quick to add, however, "I'm the first to admit that waiting is hard work. I don't want to suggest that I've gotten it all figured out."

Now back on the subject of personal mantras, principles or power statements, Lynn and I discuss the use of a phrase to guide us in daily life. Maybe even protect us by providing a guardrail of carefully chosen words.

A little piece of porch is all you need. And snacks.

That was a teaser for our podcast episode (#5) on community engagement. And it still rings true today.