ALL THERE IS Kelly Bargabos

Do you like to say Merry Christmas? or Happy Holidays? Holiday greetings have become controversial and polarizing and I get it...but perhaps we're just struggling to find the right way to express all the extra feelings we experience during the holiday season. Listen in to this brief episode to explore with me. 

Prayer can mean different things to different people. To me, it is a powerful force necessary in the spiritual realm of our lives and is one component of living a well-rounded, three-part human existence with our spirit, soul and body. It can be a super power that helps you navigate, kind of like the Hollywood version of Wonder Woman but better, believe it or not. Tune in and listen for yourself. Available on Apple, Spotify and all the other podcast platforms.

November is Preemie Awareness month and November 17th is World Prematurity Day. 1 in 10 babies in the US are born too soon, which is before 37-40 weeks. Premature babies fight for their very survival and are at risk for significant short-term and long-term health challenges.

The health equity gap in our health care system puts women and babies of color at the greatest risk, with racial and ethnic differences in preterm birth rates. In 2020, the rate of preterm birth among non-Hispanic black women was about 50% higher than the rate of preterm birth among non-Hispanic white women  or Hispanic women with African-American mothers. This campaign aims to build awareness and money in order to address and advocate for: EQUITY, ACCESS AND PREVENTION.

BEHIND THESE STATISTICS ARE REAL PEOPLE. In this episode, we hear from a very real mom and her story of premature birth with her daughter who was born at 27 weeks weighing one pound, four ounces and measuring twelve inches long. 

Light it purple and listen in to share this particular human experience.

That urge or compulsion to document, to capture, to witness, to share, because some thing or moment touches you so deeply, is at the core of being human. This is what separates us  from other creatures and living things on the earth. Art separates us. Art is the vehicle we use to capture moments like these. Art is created when a moment, an experience, a sunset, a landscape, a person, overwhelms your senses and compels you to capture the feeling, the emotion, the connection to other humans, in whatever your medium is—words, paint, music, theater, film, pictures, poetry, voice.  This is Why Art Matters.

Divorce, Death, a Diagnosis, Disappointment...these are the four big Ds that kill dreams. Perhaps you never felt permission to dream or were intimidated by the gatekeepers...the good news is that WE CAN GROW DREAMS with intention and expectation. We can plant the seeds of our own dreams, give them love and water and light, and then let them grow!

Those who struggle with mental health issues and/or suicidal thoughts can also do so silently. We need to be on the lookout and extend a hand if we can.

Drowning can sneak up on you. In movies and television, drowning people are obvious. Screaming, flailing arms waving in the air, someone hears their cries and jumps in to rescue them, just in time.  In real life, people drown silently. Because they cannot breathe, they cannot make a sound. Their body shuts down, not allowing their arms to raise high above the water. Lifeguards and other experts are trained to look for the swimmers who suddenly stop moving, who are not raising their hands, whose heads seem to bob above and below the water, without a sound. 

We can’t always see when someone around us is  struggling, caught in a rip tide, strength used up, unable to remember that swimming parallel to shore is the way out. We must look for those struggling silently. We can’t rely on other people to do the rescuing.  Lifeguards aren’t always on duty. Sometimes it’s the people on the beach who can save a life.