A Life in Progress: Rebranding Middle Age Krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui

Today's guests, Kathy Escobar and Phyllis Mathis, have been soul friends for almost two decades and are the hosts of the Soul + Practice podcast dedicated to raw conversations and real practices. Their work is centered on healthier human-ing and making it in this weird world. Phyllis did this as a therapist for many years and now is a life coach and author of The Subversive Soul: The Gentle Revolution Everyone Needs. And Kathy is a non-profit leader and community cultivator and author of several books, including Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World. More at kathyescobar.com and phyllismathis.com.
In our conversation we talk about play - how play is about motivation more than behaviour - and what that looks like for each of us as an Enneagram 2 (Kathy), 9 (Phyllis), and 1 (me). I invited each of them to take a short quiz to discover their "play personality"' which is based on the work of Dr. Stuart Brown. You can take the quiz here: Understanding your Play Style - LindsayBraman.com.


We also talk about what it means to each of us to "live on purpose" midlife and beyond. In the summer session of the Brave + Beautiful Community, members will be invited to explore their own sense of purpose, how to thrive and feel alive, and we'll do some dreaming/visioning for our lives. Learn more here: Join the Brave + Beautiful Community For Midlife Women | A Life In Progress


Sign up for the Monday Morning Hope Map:
Connect with Krista on IG
Connect on FB: A Life in Progress and/or Rebranding Middle Age

Thanks for being here and listening. I appreciate you.
Grieving the Loss of a Parent: Episode 191: Grieving the Loss of A Parent with Krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui — Julie Bjelland
Thriving Through and Beyond Grief as an HSP: Episode 180: Thriving Through and Beyond Grief as a Highly Sensitive Person — Julie Bjelland
See you next week,
Krista xo

I believe that there is wisdom and beauty to be mined in every season – even the hardest of them. Do you want to live fully present and scan for the wisdom and beauty already present in your life?
What are the simple everyday gifts of your life in this season? Savor them.What is your current growth edge? Look for one way each day or week to move forward in this area.What are you curious about right now? What stretches and excites you? Give yourself permission to follow your train of curiosity without holding tightly to outcome.What dreams or ideas are arising even if they feel impossible in the moment? Can you give yourself permission to name them or own them without judgment or needing to know how to bring them to life?

Letting go so we continue to grow requires a willingness to let go of what used to be to make space for what’s next. This includes letting go of the beauty of a past season and unfulfilled dreams or expectations. And in many cases it involves releasing unforgiveness or pain so that we are free to keep living fully and thriving in every season.


Furthermore, this process requires giving ourselves permission to quit, pivot, change course, and change our mind. And it usually involves a lot of truth-telling about the current state of our health, relationships, how we’re valuing ourselves, and more.


Sign up for the Reignite Your Creativity Workshop: Dream, Expand, Express Yourself: Reignite Your Creativity Workshop (alifeinprogress.ca)
Connect on Instagram: Krista O’Reilly-Davi-Digui | Joyful Living Educator (@a_life_in_progress) • Instagram photos and videos
Seasonal Mindfulness Journals: 52 Mondays: Seasonal Mindfulness Journals | A Life In Progress

In this episode I welcome my friend Betsy Huggins as a guest to the Rebranding Middle Age podcast. Betsy and I have been friends for years and we've collaborated on various projects including my Seasonal Mindfulness Journals.
Betsy is autistic and lives with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder). Part of her experience is that she can struggle with sensory regulation. When her nervous system is overloaded she may experience facial tremors, a stammer, and/or tics.


One of my key takeaways from our conversation is how she's shifting her focus away from trying to find a 'fix' for her condition and instead learning how to find safety in her body/nervous system exactly as she is.


Betsy shares a story that she has needed to rewrite for herself. She shares openly about how difficult it can be as a neurodivergent human to own her value in a culture that celebrates constant productivity and performance. We also talk about how she expresses her creativity in this season of her life.


Connect with Betsy on Instagram: Betsy Huggins (@betsy.huggins) • Instagram photos and videos
Betsy on Substack: Tiny Giant | Betsy Huggins | Substack
Krista on Instagram: Krista O’Reilly-Davi-Digui | Joyful Living Educator (@a_life_in_progress) • Instagram photos and videos
Sign up for the Reignite Your Creativity Workshop: Dream, Expand, Express Yourself: Reignite Your Creativity Workshop (alifeinprogress.ca)

*Note that there's a swear in this episode in case you have little people around. Also Kate's sound quality is a bit warbly at times but doesn't hinder the conversation.
I'm delighted to welcome my first guest to the podcast! Kate Codrington is a mentor, author, speaker, facilitator, artist and podcaster.  She's the author of Second Spring: the self-care guide to menopause, and her second book, The Perimenopause Journal, will be out September 2024 (Find her full bio here.)
Kate and I had a conversation about this season's theme "Old stories. New possibilities."

Kate shares about the season she’s in as, at 58 yo, she moves closer to Second Summer. She shares what this feels like in her body, life, and work of this season. We also talk about staying in discomfort and how the work of this season prepares us for what’s next.She shares her observation that in the wellness industry or those of us working online often feel pressure to project an idealized version of life and self.She shares about her current growth edge which is having courage to trust in the liminal spaces. And also allowing her insides (or her full inner truth/Self) a more honest expression in conversation and community.and more!


LINKS/RESOURCES
Kate's Free resource library: https://mailchi.mp/a8a0fa08678a/resource-library   Kate's Website: https://www.katecodrington.co.uk/ Kate on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kate_codrington/ Support the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/alifeinprogress

Who is writing or telling the stories of your life?
We all have stories playing out in our life, many unconscious, others that we are aware of yet believe or receive without examination. Most are rooted in conditioning of culture, religion, family of origin – or they may go further back.
If we want to walk in freedom, wholeness, and joy, we must do the work to open up to a new hopeful and joyful possibility. We need to question or examine the stories we believe about life, Self, our value, what we require for happiness, etc. We need to wake up to our all or nothing thinking, the ways we set limits on ourselves, or how we constantly raise the bar and then judge ourselves as less than.


When we’ve been living out a story for decades (ex. I’m not good enough) it can feel impossible to change things up. But often all we need to do is to crack ourselves open even a tiny bit to a new hopeful or joyful possibility. We can always write a new story for our life.


This season of the Rebranding Middle Age Podcast will focus on the theme of “Old stories. New possibilities.”


In this introductory episode I invite you to show up curious as you listen in and engage with the ideas offered over the next few months and notice what shows up for you. Maybe this is the season to unravel your story of “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t trust anyone.” Or perhaps your story sounds more like “I don’t have what it takes” or “I’m fundamentally flawed – bad, wrong, and broken.” (see episode page for more info)

Let's Connect! Contact Krista | A Life In Progress
Support the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/alifeinprogress