inspiration – Page 5 – Surprised By Joy

Take One Day Away

March 24, 2025March 23, 2025Posted in inspirationTagged adventure, inspiration, mental health, relationships, self-care, wellness83 Comments

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” – Maya Angelou

I’m typing this post on a Sunday morning while sitting on the floor of a hotel room as my kids sleep. This weekend, we didn’t have any events scheduled, the weather was unpredictable, and March doesn’t have any holidays so we made up a get away of our own. On Saturday afternoon we checked into a hotel for one night. It has a pool and is less than 1 mile from our house.

It sounds silly as I type this but I swear the psychological benefits are real. We walked away from all the regular stuff – homework, practice, pet care, cooking, and cleaning – to change it up for 21 hours. This small shift has reminded me that all that we carry isn’t as immoveable as it sometimes seems.

The kids have explored every feature of our 300 sq feet hotel room and spent quality time watching the freeway because the room is fun but not all that scenic. We’ve splashed and swam in the pool, and are about to head down to a FREE all-we-can-eat breakfast buffet.

I know it’s not really free but it still feels freeing. I wonder how many restorative breaks are waiting for us on the other side of silly?

(featured photo is mine)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

I co-host a storytelling podcast featuring authors and artists with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about collaboration and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.

Connecting the Dots

March 19, 2025March 18, 2025Posted in inspirationTagged community, faith, inspiration, kindness, patience, storytelling86 Comments

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs

Like the quote for this post, I couldn’t see how all the dots on this story connected until the end. But I know how it started — when I showed up at the school playground Monday afternoon with an envelope full of money.

I’d signed nine-year-old Miss O for Glee Club. Because she’d joined the after school club late, the teacher gave me a pro-rated fee for the activity. She hadn’t included a payment link. So in the spirit of not wanting to make any more work for her, I put $160 in an envelope, sealed it and wrote only the teacher’s name on the front. My plan was to hand it to her when I picked Miss O up after class.

But I had to pick up five-year-old Mr. D at the regular end of the school day. I was talking with other parents when he came over to tell me that two kids weren’t letting a little kid go on the playground. Another parent and I went to investigate. Two boys had a smaller one pinned. As we tried to convince them to let him go, one hit the kid a couple of times and the other kid kicked the smaller kid when he was on the ground. Then they walked away.

We helped the smaller kid get a shoe back on and then as he got up, he started to follow the other boys. I said something to him about letting things cool down but he either didn’t hear, understand, or agree.

I walked back to the other parents. Something caught my eye across the playground. The kids again had the little boy on the ground and were kicking him. Some instinctive thing kicked in and I started running the 100 yards towards where they were yelling, “Stop! Cut it out.”

Let’s be clear – I’m an endurance person, not a running person. If my yelling didn’t scare them, I bet my awkward sprint probably did. One kid let go, the little one got up, and the second kid started chasing him with me running after them both.

Fortunately, the director of the after school program was alerted by my yelling and came over to handle the situation. No doubt that not only he was more qualified but he also had a relationship with the kids. I walked away knowing the situation was in good hands.

But when I got home, I couldn’t find the envelope with the cash. I felt sick about it. However, I rationalized that my adrenaline fueled run across the playground was worth it.

I knew this wasn’t the Glee Club teacher’s problem so I figured out how to Venmo her the money. When I returned to pick up Miss O at the end of the after school class, the teacher said to me, “I got the money.”

Confused, I asked, “The Venmo?” She shook her head and said, “The envelope with the cash.”

A student had found the envelope on the playground and tracked the teacher down to give it to her.

I don’t know how you connect the dots in this story. But for me, it was a God moment. I felt a shiver as I saw in hindsight the hand of something bigger than me drawing the thru line from start to finish.

(featured photo from pexels)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about creativity and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.

All You Have to Do Is Ask

March 17, 2025March 16, 2025Posted in confidenceTagged confidence, family, goals, inspiration, relationships93 Comments

“Our problem is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit.” – Aristotle

Last week, nine-year-old Miss O came home from school disappointed that she’d missed the opportunity to sign up for her school Glee Club. Apparently we’d missed the memo.

So I suggested that we contact the music teacher to see if we could join now. “No,” she moaned, “we’re too late.”

I doubled-down with the parenting trope “It never hurts to ask” but apparently Miss O was sure that it would.

I remember being about Miss O’s age when my mom told me to call the store I wanted to shop at to ask when they would close. I was completely intimidated. It took a lot of drama and role-playing practice. When I finally did it, I discovered that it was a pretty straightforward query.

So I’m completely clear on the many reasons we have not to ask for what we want. I still feel twinges to this day. Asking might reveal that we weren’t on the ball or should have already known. What if we are being disrespectful or disruptive? Perhaps it’ll bring unwanted attention on ourselves. And what if they say ‘no’? What if they say something I don’t know how to respond to?

But despite all this, I remembered late that night to send an email to the music teacher. She responded the next day that she’d be delighted to have Miss O join. In fact, she’d already let Miss O know when she’d seen her that morning.

When I picked Miss O up from school that day, I gleefully said, “Wuhoo, you got in to Glee club! See, you just have to ask.”

She laughed and said, “Yep.” And then she added, “What do you do in Glee club anyway?”

Oh dear – that’s next week lesson: know what you are signing up for before you do so. It’s a lesson I’m still regularly learning…

(featured photo from pexels)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

Inter-generational Impact

March 7, 2025March 6, 2025Posted in podcastTagged creativity, family, inspiration, kindness, love, podcast, relationships, writing53 Comments

“I hold that a strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations.” – Beatrix Potter

I’ve mentioned these details before but every once in a while I’m reminded of how remarkable it is that:
– In 2014, I made all the final arrangements to get pregnant via IVF on November 6th and thought, “Wow, life is about to change.” And then on November 7th, my dad died in a bike accident and I thought, “No, not like that!”
– Ten months later, I finished the line edits on the book I wrote about my dad at 8pm and seven hours later at 3am, I went into labor with Miss O

I’ve always known their stories are inextricably tied. But it is fascinating to see Miss O’s understanding of that evolve in ways that I can’t predict. How her perception of the grandfather she next met grows is really cool to see. It’s like a sneak peek into the inter-generational impact from the Beatrix Potter quote for this post.

This coming Sunday, March 9th would be my dad’s 90th birthday if he were alive. Vicki Atkinson and I sat down with my nine-year-old daughter, Miss O in Episode 106: The Miss Factor with Miss O. to talk about him.

Miss O was given a fourth grade class assignment to write about a perspective change. When she came home with this short essay about my dad, I was stunned.

She reads the essay to us and tells us what inspired her. Clearly I have a personal interest in this but at a bigger level, it’s fascinating to see what kids take away from family stories.

Vicki asks about how Miss O finds her voice and is so good at teasing out why it’s so meaningful to hear it from her perspective.

When we dig in to what Miss O knows about her grandfather who she never met, it’s both interesting and endearing to see the impression she’s gleaned of my dad. It’s also really funny to see the many ways they are alike.

Miss O talks about what she is doing next. Namely, making a slime channel on YouTube kids. As Miss O says, she is passionate about slime and she wants to share her creations. Fortunately, for all us we have boundaries – the slime has to stay in the rec room and she’s only showing her hands.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we talk about family stories!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 106: The Miss Factor with Miss O

Episode 106 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father, Finding My Father’s Faith that I wrote in the months after he died and before Miss O was born.

(featured photo is my dad and me at age 2)

The Ups and Downs of Adventure

March 5, 2025March 4, 2025Posted in inspirationTagged adventure, inspiration, memories, success78 Comments

“Jobs fill your pocket, adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn Beatty

This past weekend I went on a bike ride with my kids. I think the below is a fairly accurate graph of the big emotions during the adventure. I didn’t chart the minor tremors as it’d look like we had been in an earthquake.

And this is how we remember it looking back four days later:

I don’t think this is limited to adventures with young kids. I’ve thought back and I can’t think of a single adventure that I have undertaken that didn’t come with at least one low moment. Tired, hungry, in pain, uncertain about success, sometimes all of the above. And yet, there are none that I wish I hadn’t done.

Now I’m just grateful that my kids keep my expedition muscles working. Because in the end, I think these adventures, big and small, teach us about life. We learn we can do it, survive the ups and downs, and in the process, do something worth remembering.

(all photos are mine)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

What Otters Think

March 3, 2025March 3, 2025Posted in inspirationTagged food for thought, inspiration, perspective, thinking, wisdom68 Comments

“Learn to sit back and observe, not everything needs a reaction.” – unknown

This past weekend we went to the zoo. Near the end of our time there, we were at the exhibit for the Asian Small-Clawed Otters. A keeper arrived with two small brown paper bags and threw one to each otter.

We were standing at the glass wall of the exhibit and there was a group of three adults next to us – two men and a woman in their thirties. Nine-year-old Miss O had commented on the group about five minutes earlier. She’d said, “Those people are either drunk or really happy.” Until she mentioned that I hadn’t been paying attention to them, even though their pace through this section matched ours. She was right that they were loud.

Our zoo does a pretty good job with creating natural exhibits and designing ways for the animals to have to find their food. As we stood to watch the otters try to open the bags, the group of three narrated the actions in a way that was intended to be funny.

“Oh, this one hasn’t even gotten the bag open and that one has been munching for like five minutes.”

“This one must be stupid. It can’t get into a paper bag.”

“Oh no, don’t let it roll into the water!”

“Now the smart one is coming over to finish off the dumb one’s snack.”

“Oops, it’s all pouring into the water now.”

I struggled to just watch the scene without paying attention to the people next to me. It was hard – they were loud and I was tired. We’d navigated almost four miles of walking through the zoo on a pretty busy day and the effort to keep the group together had made me peckish.

Even through my hungry haze, I wondered how much my other experiences are influenced by commentary. On one hand, it’s nice to hear what people more experienced on a subject think. On the other hand, not all commentary comes from reliable sources. I wrestle with taking in what’s going on and coloring in my own experience before being influenced by other’s perspectives.

Like in this case, I think that the slower one was taking its time to savor each treat.

Just like with the otters, may we all find the healthy things to chew on.

(photos are mine of Asian Small-clawed Otters at the Woodland Park Zoo)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

Widening the Circle of Compassion

February 26, 2025February 25, 2025Posted in kindnessTagged compassion, inspiration, kindness, living, love, relationships80 Comments

“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein

On Monday night after the kids went to bed, I was outside in my pajamas wearing my hat with the built-in head lamp sorting through the dirt of a terrarium. In a moment of sanity, I thought, “What the eff am I doing?”

On one level, it was easy to understand what I was doing. I was trying to find our pet snail after the terrarium accidentally slid off the shelf when five-year-old Mr. D tried to put it up. We’d cleaned up the dirt and put it back in the terrarium but didn’t see Snail-D, also known as Gary, when we did. Since it happened during the middle of dinner time and on bath night, we hadn’t had time to return to try to see if he’d survived the fall.

So maybe the better question was why was I doing it? I have a limit to how much I can do in a day. I often say that I’m off the clock after the kids go to bed. It’s when I finally get some downtime. While I will sometimes do the dishes, I try to be pretty good about just having a cup of tea and reading a book.

We hadn’t intended to adopt another creature but Mr. D discovered Gary the snail crawling up the side of our entertainment center. He must have come in on the cat’s coat. So, it seemed like he’d found us and Mr. D was really excited about having his own “pet.” I didn’t think we’d manage to keep him alive for a day. But now, a month later, Gary seems to be thriving.

Until the accident, at least. I have to admit, I have come to sort of like Gary. He’s pretty social anytime the kids get him out of his terrarium. And he eats all my left-over lettuce.

But I suspect that the real reason I spent my me-time on Monday night looking through the dirt for Gary was because life is precious and precarious. Deep down I know the conditions of my life could change because of an accident or because of the whim of a whacky autocrat.

So helping others, even mollusks, also helps me to feel better.

You’ll be happy to know that Gary survived.

(featured photo is Gary before the accident)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

Suffering

February 24, 2025February 23, 2025Posted in love, UncategorizedTagged healing, inspiration, love, relationships63 Comments

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

I don’t often think about my ex-husband, for better or for worse. [Yes, that was a marriage joke. 😊] After we divorced, he got married to his third wife. I discovered, once I wasn’t married to him, that I did want kids and had them on my own.

But something I read the other day made me think of something he said fifteen years ago when our marriage was unravelling. “I suffered so much as a kid that I don’t want to suffer any more now.” It was his excuse for not wanting to do the work to figure out the why of his infidelities.

He did suffer as a kid. His parents divorced when he was three years old. His mom remarried a man that ended up going to prison for bank robbery. He was in high school and living with his dad and his dad’s third wife until his dad and step-mom left town in the middle of the night to move 1,000 miles away without telling him because they were in trouble with the IRS.

My ex was a smart kid. He figured it out and managed to work his way through college to create a different life than his parents.

Here’s what I read that made me think of my ex:

“While I am not a victim, I didn’t ask for certain shaping experiences to happen to me. I didn’t ask to be slapped or ridiculed as a boy or to be mistreated by lifelong friends later in life. In truth, If I had experienced different things, I would have different things to say.

What is most healing about bearing witness to things exactly as they are, including my own part in my pain, is that when the voice of the pain fits the pain, there is no room for distortion or illusion. In this way, truth becomes a clean bandage that heals, keeping dirt out of the wound.

To voice things as they are is the nearest medicine.”

— The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo

That meditation helped me to understand that the point of cleaning our wounds isn’t to suffer more, it’s to heal at that deeper level.

Here’s the funny thing. In not wanting to do his work, my ex made me want to do mine. He’s right – there’s too much suffering in this world. I was motivated to heal my wounds so I don’t thoughtlessly create others.

(featured photo from Pexels)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

Things About Parenting I Think I’ve Learned So Far, Part 2

February 10, 2025February 9, 2025Posted in ParenthoodTagged confidence, dreams, humor, inspiration, love, parenting, relationships79 Comments

“Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.” – W.E.B. Dubois

It’s been a couple of years since I originally compiled a list of what I thought I knew. As I sit down to write this update, I realize that the richness of parenting comes with a lot of doubt. What works one day with one kid doesn’t necessarily work the next with another.

So in the spirit of admitting that I don’t really know anything, but still keep trying, here’s what I think I’ve learned about parenting recently.

Don’t interrupt a child trying to tie their shoes.

Once they talk like adults, it’s harder to remember that they don’t have the brain development to go along with the vocabulary.
Remembering that BEFORE I speak is what comes with maturity

It takes a lot of food to support those growing brains. One trick is to teach them to cook.
Anything they participate in making tastes better.

Once they are out of car seats, it’s much easier to get IN the car.
But it’s harder to get TO the car.

Motivation is touchy – too much pressure and they zing out of control. Too little pressure and they don’t move. It’s like coaxing an element from solid to liquid form so be careful with the Bunson Burner.

Many clues about the internal state can be discerned by listening. As Lawrence Cohen said, “Children don’t say ‘I had a hard day, can we talk?’ They say, ‘Will you play with me?‘”

Growth is not a straight line.

Some issues will solve themselves without parental involvement. Learn to hang back.

Confidence and independence go hand-in-hand. But both start from the heart. When we believe they can, they do too.

Listening to what a child observes is one of the most rewarding parts of parenting. When they report on a purple house, the first star at night, or the sound of a bird as it taps on a wire, stop everything to take it in.

I still haven’t solved the sock problem. They get stuffed behind the pillow, under the couch, in my purse, and on the porch. Most mystifying, or maddening, is when they end up back with the clean socks.

There will be things that drive you crazy. Like the socks. Or the last half hour before bedtime.
Coping with parenting is like looking at an optical illusion where you can see the old lady with the big chin or the young lady with a hat.
Pick the perspective that fills you with joy.

Be gentle. Be calm. Be kind. And that includes to yourself.

Riding bikes to the ice cream shop always improves the mood.

There are many different types of closeness. But one definition, proximity, helps to create a lot of the other types.
Being proximate and close means you’ll sometimes feel the sting of growing pains. Understanding that’s what it is will help to salve the sting.

Other people’s emotions can be hard to handle.
That circular relationship of handling my emotions about their emotions is instrumental to growing up… for me and for them.

Learning is almost always messy.

This is clearly a personal call but maybe clean less than you think you should and play more than you think you should.

The amount of time you spend playing with your kids when they are young and you are old and busy has a relationship to how much time they spend with you when you are old and they are grown and busy.

When kids are parked in their big spaces, proud and confident, they act better.
Being someone who helps move the mindset from small and whiny to big and empowered is tricky…and powerful!

Dreams are precious. Just listen.

(featured photo is my kids and me after biking in the rain. Thanks to Dave Williams for his edits to take the names off the helmets).

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

Always Learning

February 7, 2025February 6, 2025Posted in podcastTagged blogging, creativity, inspiration, podcast, writing35 Comments

“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” – Salvador Dali

One of the best benefits of having a podcast is scheduling time to talk about creativity and writing. It’s a wonderful practice of having intentional conversations that inspire.

The latest episode, Episode 102 Writer’s Lessons, is a great example of this. Vicki Atkinson and I talk with author and blogger, Melanie McGauran about writer lessons. Melanie always inspires us with her curiosity and willingness to learn. She is so generous to be willing to share her lessons with us.

She tells us the story behind her essay Growing Up Fast in 1978. We love the essay for its revealing look at her family dynamics and the complicated path she had to walk to get to go to college.

And then she shares some of the lessons she learned from a class she took with author Marin Sardy. She tells us about the chronological canyon and other pitfalls we can fall into.

Melanie shares some of the back and forth she had with Marin as she absorbed the feedback Marin gave her. We laugh that sometimes it’s hard to listen even if the source is an acclaimed author.

And then she extends the lessons with some wise and practical tidbits she picked up from a writing book by Steven Pressfield.

Melanie reveals his advice that hones in on the reader experience. And she shares some questions he provides to make sure content is relatable:

Is it fun?
Is it challenging?
Is it inventive?
Am I giving the reader enough?
Are they bored?
Are they taking me where I want to lead them?

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the writer lessons learned that help us improve and extend our storytelling!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 102: Writer’s Lessons with Melanie McGauran

Episode 102 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Growing Up Fast in 1978 by Melanie McGauran

Melanie’s blog: https://leavingthedooropen.com/

Steven Pressfield – writing that inspired Melanie: https://stevenpressfield.com/books/

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)