Good Life Project - The Hug | Part 2

Episode Date: November 9, 2020

Today, we’re sharing part 2 of our special series, The Hug. Last week, we aired part 1 of the Hug, with six beautiful stories. Today is part 2 next, think of it as the other arm in our audio hug, wrapping us all in the arms of stories that remind us of our shared humanity at a time we need it most. So, sit back and enjoy these stories in part 2 of The Hug. If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1 of The Hug (https://tinyurl.com/y2f5y2eh), be sure to download it and listen now. And if these stories have warmed you up, or reconnected you with a sense of shared humanity and possibility, even just a bit, maybe you know someone else who might need to hear them, too. Right now. Especially now. If there were ever episodes we’d love you to share with friends and family, it’s these Hug episodes. We all need stories that remind us of the good side of human beings, more than ever. And, if the stories have moved you and you’d love us to do more episodes like this, let us know on instagram, email or in a review on your fave listening app. Thanks for listening.You can find our storytellers at:Marsha Shandur: https://www.instagram.com/yesyesmarsha/Megan Devine: https://www.instagram.com/refugeingrief/Yvonne Ator: yvonneator.comIN-Q: https://www.instagram.com/inqlife/Jennifer Pastiloff: https://www.instagram.com/jenpastiloff/Dan Stones: https://twitter.com/monobisco/status/1320530648977866755Erin Moon: https://www.instagram.com/mooneybooks-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey there. So today we are sharing part two of our special series, The Hug. So part one aired last Monday, and it feels like we have all lived a month in a week. We knew we were about to head into a week like never before in the USA and pretty much all around the world. And we wanted to wrap it and you with one beautiful audio hug that kind of reminded us all that people are good, that they can be kind even to total strangers in ways we never imagined. And that underneath it all, we're all human and worthy of love and dignity. So we created this two-part series called The Hug. The goal is to share a collection of heartwarming stories told by friends of the podcast that share a moment

or experience where a little bit of kindness, a little bit of sweetness, maybe just a little bit of lightness touched down into their lives and reminded them how good people can be. We were feeling like we all needed a little of that heading into last week, and well, we were kind of right. Last week, we aired part one of The Hug with six gorgeous stories. Today, we are sharing part two. Think of it as the other arm in our audio hug, wrapping us all in the arms of stories that remind us of our shared humanity

at a time we need it most. So sit back and enjoy these stories in part two of The Hug. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes.

The Apple Watch Series 10, available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday, we've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were gonna be fun.

On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're gonna die. Don't shoot him, we need him! Y'all need a pilot? So our first storyteller is Toronto-based storytelling coach, speaker, author, and host of True Stories Told Live Toronto, Marsha Shandor. She believes that stories are the universal catalyst for connection and really brings us a story of a one-person marathon that is so relevant to all of our experiences of life. Here's Marsha. It's five to nine on a Sunday morning, and I am standing outside the gates of Greenwich Park in Southeast London, trying my hardest to look both sporty and like I really have my life

together. I had spent five sweaty months training to run the New York City Marathon very, very slowly. And 36 hours before the race, it got cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy, which was absolutely the right thing for them to do. But now I was stuck because I had spent five months training. I wasn't going to not run a marathon. So I decided that I would run the London marathon instead, except it wasn't happening for another four months. So I just thought I'd run it anyway on my own. So over in one corner by the gates are my family, my mum, my uncle Andrew and my best friend from school, Sophie. And they are here because when you run a solo marathon, there are certain things that you don't

get. So one of the things is a medal. I was the kid at school that got picked last for every team. So three years before when I'd run the New York marathon, getting the medal was amazing. It's this big chunky thing. I've got it here. I'm just going to tap it against the table. So I knew I wasn't going to get one of those, but I made my peace with that. Another thing is crowds of people cheering you on, but I had sent an email out to everybody that I knew in London saying, here's the link to sponsor me. And if you can come out, that would be amazing. And then the third thing is refreshment stations. In a normal marathon, every mile they have like water and Gatorade, because it's quite hard to carry that stuff around for 26.2 miles. So instead, my family said that they would drive up every four miles

with some water and also Kleenexx because it turns out when I run, so does my nose. So there in one corner close to them is this guy, Jim Patterson, who 24 hours before I had never even heard of, but somebody put me in touch with him because he'd run a solo marathon. And as we were chatting, he said, do you have anyone to run the first few miles with you? And I said, I don't. And he went, oh, I'll come along with you. So he's there. And then directly in front of me is a photographer from the local paper. Because of Facebook, I happen to know that a lot of those kids that didn't pick me for the team still live in our local area. And so that is why I'm trying my hardest to look both sporty and like I really have my life together. So it finally gets to five

seconds to nine and everybody counts me down. Five, four, three, two, one. And Jim and I set off very, very slowly. So we're jogging along and we're chatting and suddenly I hear this boop, boop, boop, boop. And I reach into my bra because when you do distance running, it's quite hard to carry stuff with you. So everything goes in my bra. I've got my running gels, which are those little things that you use as food when you're running a marathon. I have my iPod because I figured a lot of it would just be me by myself. It'd be kind of boring. And then I have a map because weirdly, they didn't close down all of the streets and put up signs just for me. So this map is like lots of bits of paper stuck together that I've tried to kind of laminate with

scotch tape. So that's folded up in there. And I also have my phone and I pull it out and it's a text from someone wishing me well. So I write back, thank you. And I put it back in and then we get to mile one and I pull out my phone again because the people who are coming to cheer me on, I don't really have a sense of how fast I'm going to run. Like I know how fast, slow. I know how slow I usually run, but I, you know, I don't know if there's going to be roadblocks or if it's going to be hard to get through bits. So I said to everybody who said they'd come and cheer me on, keep an eye on Twitter and I'll tweet once a mile to say how far I've got. So I pull out my phone and say mile one done. And we keep running and we're chatting and we get to mile two. And I think my Twitter feed is going to look super boring if

it's just like mile one, mile two. So I write like mile two, people are giving us some strange looks because also I'm wearing what I was going to wear for the race, which is my race number. And then a t-shirt that says my name in big letters at the front, because when you run the New York City Marathon, the crowds say your name. They're like, oh, Marsha, New York City is proud of you, Marsha. So I figure I just have my name for this anyway. So we keep running, get to mile three. I'm like, oh, tweeting mile three. Jim's just telling me about the Marathon's here, it's run. And we're heading up towards mile four and my phone starts going and then it's just like and it's just so many

messages are coming in so we finally get to mile four my family there I give them a hug I get some water and I say to Sophie I'm getting loads of tweets and she says yep yep, bit of news. People have been passing around Twitter that Marsha is live tweeting her solo marathon. They're calling it the Marsha-thon. Darling, you've gone viral. So I say, okay, that's amazing. And Jim and I set off again. So we're running and then I see somebody up ahead and I know who this is because they've sent me a message. It is a friend that I haven't seen since we went to summer camp before 20 years earlier, but she's come out and that's lovely. And I stop. And if you're running an usual marathon, then you can just see your friend and like high five them and keep going. But for this, there's no one else for them to look at. So it seems a bit rude not to hang out for a minute.

So I do some stretches and we chat and then I say goodbye and we set off. And I am having an absolute blast. The first marathon, I spent like pretty much all of it just crying and swearing to myself I would never do this again. I remember getting to the halfway point and all these big signs are like, halfway, you've made it. And I just remember thinking, I can't believe I have to do all of that again. But it is not the same at all. So we keep going. We see my family again, we move on. And then we're in this place called Rotherhithe in South East London. And it's like a bit of an industrial wasteland. And there is nothing around us, but we see this guy standing up ahead and nobody's told me

they're coming out to meet us. But as we get closer, it's very clear he's staring straight at us. And then we get to him and he says, you Marsha? And I say, yeah. And he hands me a bottle of Gatorade and I say, oh, thanks. You know, how did you get here? And he said, oh, I just read about it on Twitter. Figured I'd come and say hello. So we say, thank you and keep moving. And we get to mile 12. And then this is when my friend Kerry shows up. So I used to be a radio DJ and Kerry and his partner Becker and their amazing kid Angharad used to listen to me all the time. I used to do shout outs. So they've all three come, but Kerry is going to run with me. And for a while, Becker and Angharad are like pretending to run. And we keep going. And then we get to Tower Bridge, which if you don't know London, it's like the sexy white

and blue one that's in all the movies. And in the distance, I can see somebody holding a big piece of card up. And as I get closer, I see that the card says, go, Marsha, go. And standing next to it is my friend Scott, who lives in Edinburgh, which is eight hours drive away, which I know for North Americans is like a skip and a hop. But for me, that's like the entire length of the UK pretty much. And I say, oh my gosh, and I give him a hug and I say, I didn't know you were going to be here. And he goes, oh, I wasn't, just came down for this. Got to go home in a few hours. So I send him off with my mum and my uncle. And then we see another lady and she says, oh, are you the Runny Marathon people? And I say, yeah,

or did you hear about us on Twitter? And she said, no, BBC. And I said, I'm sorry. And she said, yeah, your photo is the biggest picture on the biggest story on the front page of the website for the whole of the BBC. So I say, okay, come and run. And she runs with us for a bit. And at this point, Jim realizes that without having really meant to, he's accidentally run an entire half marathon. So he goes home, at which point Kerry says, you know, that was halfway. And I'm like, wait, what? Because I feel like I could do that 10 more times. So we keep running. And then we're joined by this other lady, Amelia, who was training to run the London Marathon. And a friend of mine, Richard, who's this like six foot two criminal psychologist. And another friend, Tom, who ran the New York Marathon with me last time. So we're all running along and going mile 15, 16, 17. And then we suddenly get

to mile 18 and I trip. I'm going to stand up. I'm walking again. All right. And I start running again and I fall over again. I'm in absolute agony. Sit down on the side of the road and I realized I just can't run. And I don't know what to do. And so I get on Twitter to tell people because I know there's people further along who are waiting for me. And I say, you know, my knee's gone. I don't really know what I'm going to do. And then I get a message from a friend who's a few miles down the road. And she says, I'm really sorry, Marsha. We've been waiting in the cold for an hour and we have to go home. And I think, oh man, I've let them down. And I look up at these people who are running with me and most of them are

training for their own marathons. And now they're not going to be able to run. I think I've let them down. And then I start getting messages on Twitter from people saying, oh, you know, I'm sorry to hear that. And I've been enjoying following along, but I think I'm going to have to go to work. And I think I've let Twitter down. And then I get a text from a friend of mine and all it says is, oh my gosh, Marsha, you're winning. And I think, I'm the only one running this race. I am winning. And so I stand up and I stick out one elbow and I stick out the other

and I channel my inner senior citizen neon clad Floridian woman and I begin to speed walk. So I'm speed walking along and the other four are just kind of jogging around me because it kind of looks embarrassing. And we keep going. And so we're speed walking mile 19, mile 20, mile 21, mile 22. At one point, I realized that everybody I'm running with is either like super tall or really ripped. And Kerry just leans down and points at all of us and goes, it's a bit of a Madonna jogging in Central Park vibe, isn't it? Like they're my minders. So we keep going mile 24, mile 25. And at mile 25, it's already dark. I start to run and I can do it. And so we all pick up the pace and we're running. There are the five of us

and we're running towards St. James's Park. And without saying a word, without even really knowing I'm doing it, I start to sing. And again, without saying a word, the four of them join in. We're singing the Rocky theme tune. And we're running towards Buckingham Palace. We run around the corner. We're almost at the finish line. My whole family are standing there. Gary's whole family are standing there. They have a red ribbon they're holding across the finish line. And I run through and break the ribbon and they throw confetti at me. And I'm finished. And I sit down by the side of the road. And Sophie comes up to me. She says, I've looked at the totals on the fundraising. Before I announced I was doing the Marshathon, I had raised $3,000 for the charity of the author Lisa Lynch. Sophie

says, you've got over 6,000. And then both of us look up because Angharad, Kerry's kid, is standing holding something. And she says, I made this for you. And she hands it to me and it's a medal. And on the plastic, she's written the letter m over and over again for marshathon and in the middle is a gold number one because i won the marshathon Next up is an old friend of the podcast, psychotherapist, writer, grief advocate, and communication expert, Megan Devine, sharing a chance encounter with a stranger who makes up and sings her a song on the spot that left both of them in tears. Fair warning, you may also want to have a tissue when you hear Megan's story. Here's Megan. Grief can be so brutal. Sometimes there are little things that happen that tell us we aren't alone, that there is a more than this

in the mystery. Something that lays down besides the brutality of loss. Can we talk about this stuff? Can we voice our wonder and our fascination about these external evidences of something larger happening, whether it's simply our brains making connections, which is totally cool in and of itself, or something just beyond our minds? Can we make it safe for each other to share these occurrences even with whatever else is happening in our lives? I'll go first. As with many of my stories, this one starts with rain. It was pouring. My dog didn't want to go outside. He hates to get his paws wet, even though he loves to swim. So we drove the tiny eighth of a mile to the dog park instead of walking. He really does hate to get his feet wet in puddles.

A man opened the gate for us when we arrived, a very sweet man, who had apparently spent the night in the shelter at the dog park. He started talking to me about his dogs, how much he loved them, how he was with them when they died. He asked about my dog, and I told him how Matt had crouched down in front of his kennel at the shelter and told me, we don't have to keep looking, babe.

He's the only dog here. I told the man how Matt and I wanted an older dog in order to give him, quote, a few last good years. The man said how important and kind that was. How special it was to adopt a creature knowing you're facing the end sooner than you'd like. He said, you and your husband are good people. Now during all this, I actually managed not to cry at all. I was trying to talk myself out of offering him a ride somewhere, but instead I offered him the umbrella I had in my car. It was raining and he said he had to walk across town to meet his girlfriend. It was the least I could do. That's so kind of you, he said.

In return, I will sing a song about your dog. I'm really good at songs. I can make them up instantly. He told me he'd have a song by the time I came back from the car. I walked to the car. I came back, left my rain-averse dog inside, and I handed the man the umbrella. He was standing inside the shelter, and I was outside in the rain. Okay, he said, you tell me about your dog. What do you love?

What makes him special to you and your husband i stopped i stared at our dog who was standing on the driver's seat staring at me and i started to cry oh we're sharing a moment here he said you don't have to say anything no wait just tell me what it is about your dog i didn't even think about it i just I just blurted out, he's who's left of my family. My husband died and it is his birthday today. The man was quiet. He turned away. He turned back and put his hand on my shoulder. I mean this in all honesty. God bless you.

He continued along crying now himself. I'm train wrecked for you. How long has it been? How long ago? When did this happen? He asked for Matt's name. He said, okay, I'm going to mention the pup in your song, but this one is for Matthew. This song is for him and his wife. He went silent for a minute, composing himself, studying himself. And then he pulled a harmonica out of his bag

and brought it to his mouth and started wailing away. A breath. Then his voice, clear and loud as thunder, started rumbling at the tree line and the winds picked up god he had an incredible voice a raspy blues voice he sang with everything he had his eyes closed his whole body engaged he sang a song for my love, directed to the clouds, to the heavens. He spoke for me.

Matthew, thank you for your life. Thank you for the love you brought to me. Thank you for being here. I know you are gone, but you are not. I know you wipe the tears from my face while I sleep. I know you are here and you're gone. You're holding me. I know you are. You are gone and you're not. Remember all the trips, all the days in the sun. We had such a good life. I will always be your wife. It's hard for me here, but I will not go out. I will not let my light go out. I will try. The puppy and I will try. I am out here in the rain with him for you. Thank you for your life. This is hard and I love you and I know you are free.

I know I will be with you again. This life may be long but I will see you soon. He sent up his words for me. Words I could not sing. And there were several verses. The wind howled and the trees shook. A song wiped him out.

After he was finished, he told me that his best friend drowned eight weeks ago. I'd read that story. Transient man found in the water off the docks. I had not and did not tell him that Matt drowned too. He talked about the shock, about how he found himself losing time and blanking out.

He asked me to keep him and his dear friend in my prayers, and he would keep Matt and me in his. And then he offered me a slight bow, took the umbrella, and taking a pause in the rain as his opportunity, walked off to find his girlfriend. Our next Hug Storyteller is coach, facilitator, and advocate, and longtime friend and GLP family member who radiates love with her smile and laugh, Yvonne Ator, with a story of a time

that she learned to surrender to the kindness of others. Here's Yvonne. A few years ago, I had come to a crossroads. My life started falling apart. And at the same time, I decided I was going to go train with retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Devine in his unbeatable mind because I wanted to learn how to thrive no matter where I found myself. Even if I was in a chaotic situation or a war zone, I felt like I wanted to be able to thrive doing that. And I wanted the same for my clients because I realized that I was doing the same thing where I was the safe place they were coming to. And then I'll send them back to their toxic work environments and I'm not there to be the safe space. So how do you find a safe space for yourself

wherever you are? How do you create that safe place for yourself to thrive wherever you find yourself? So that's how I found myself in the Unbeatable Mind coaching training. And this was a very different coaching training from what I was used to. I am, I guess, for lack of a better description, a Black woman. I'm pretty booksome. And I was surrounded by all of these white men who are pretty buff. And they're like the Terminators, are strong and rooted in a lot of physical training. But we're all there in Unbeatable Mind coaching because we believed in Mark Devine's work, fusing Eastern philosophy with Western Navy SEAL training. So we did a lot of like mental

toughness training, emotional resilience trainings. And so basically learning a lot of the skills that the Navy SEALs use to survive their BUDS training. BUDS training is like the most intense, the most rigorous military training in the world. And they use those mental techniques to survive the BUDS training. And so we got taught a lot of those skills in mental toughness and emotional resilience. And, and while we were getting trained as coaches, we also had to do a lot of physical, a lot of physical training as well. And a lot of physical trainings look like a lot of drills, a lot of burpees, a lot of bear crawls. You're, you are on the beach, you're doing pushups, you're, you're rolling in the sand and then going in the wash.

And then you're getting water, you know, you're in the surf kind of getting water, water tortured by the waves and you're in the waves locked with your, with your brothers. And so this, these are kind of like the physical things we did, like to really tap into our own mental reserves and our mental toughness and try to withstand any situation we found ourselves in. So at this point on this day, we'd done a lot of the drills and all of that. And I, again, I'm like pretty booksome. I'm not the buffest of people and, and a little on the heavier side of things. Uh, One of the things we had to do was planks. And in Unbeatable Mind, we use the big four of mental toughness, the breath work, the positivity, visualization, and goal setting to help us do planks, but not just normal planks.

There are planks that you just hold for an indefinite amount of time. So I think at that point, the record was like 45 minutes or so. And I was ready. My arms were already shot from all the burpees and everything else we're doing. And now you want us to do what? Do a plank without ending. We don't even know when it's going to end until they say stop. So, okay, fine. So I was in this circle. We're all me and my band of brothers. I call them, we're all in this circle. And there were a couple of females as well, but I was flanked by all of my brothers, um, who had kind of been my, my inspiration throughout our training program. And so we're all in this circle and they said, okay, three, two, one, start, start your planks. And so we're all doing our planks and I'm like, okay, I've got this, I've got this. I'm using my, you know, my big four of mental toughness and,

you know, I'm breathing, I'm doing my breath work to keep myself calm. I'm, I'm saying positive things to myself. Like I've got this, I've got this. And then I'm kind of visualizing myself, you know, getting to the end of it, visualizing, seeing my kids at the end of the day, and then having goals like, you know, maybe let me just get through these three breaths, you know, getting to the end of it, visualizing, seeing my kids at the end of the day, and then having goals like, you know, maybe let me just get through these three breaths, you know, so having tiny goals like that to help me get through. So practicing the big four of mental toughness. But again, I was already tired before I started. So about like, probably like 10, 15 minutes, I guess into it it, my shoulders were done. I was toast and I could feel myself collapsing.

And of course, my swim buddy, a swim buddy is a person, your accountability partner throughout the training. And it's actually a Navy SEALs concept, a person who swims with you throughout the whole experience, throughout your whole year long training. He was my accountability partner, Jim, who now happens to be like the CEO of unbeatable mind now. But back then we were both coaching trainees. And so he takes a look at me and he glances and sees that I'm shaking. And so he says, Yvonne, I'm going to slide under you. Let me, let me support you. Uh, okay. Okay. I nod my head. Okay. Whatever.

I'm not really listening. And then he talks to the other guy on the other side of me, Jonathan, and it says, Jonathan, get Andre Vaughn and help prop her up. Okay, fine. So now I have two men. I mean, we're all sweating. So this is like very, very intimate. So I'm like, you know, these two buff guys are under me. And so Jim has his left arm and his left leg under me, lifting up my right arm and my right leg. And then Jonathan is on the other side. I mean, like, and I'm pretty books. So now my boobs are on on both guys. So and now his leg is under my left leg. So they're both propping me up. But the thing is, I knew they were under me. And I mean, they were all up in my, my business and I didn't let go. I was still propping myself up. And Jim was like, Yvonne, Yvonne, let us carry you. Let us carry you. Let go, let go. Uh-huh.

Okay. And I'm still prepping myself up. So this happened like maybe four or five times. They were both like trying to get me to let go. Yvonne, we've got you. Let go, let go. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. And I'm still at this point, I'm shaking and about to collapse. And I said, Yvonne, just let us carry you. So finally it clicked in my mind and I said, okay. And so I let go and it was like, I was paper because they were both at this point, just carrying me. And it was just so I've never felt anything like that before because I was on them. They were, they were, they were carrying me. And then when they observed that I'd gotten enough strength and caught my breath and, uh, just had enough time to recover. And they said, are you okay?

Are you, are you okay to get back on, you know, do the plank? I said, okay. And they let me prop myself back up and they both slid out from under me. And soon after, I mean, they carried me for a good while. They carried me for a really long time. And so after that, soon after that, the plank was over and I was able to prop myself the whole time. And then when they rang the bell, whatever, I collapsed to the floor and I collapsed not because I was tired from the plank, but I just started sobbing uncontrollably. I could not stop crying. I, and you have to understand I'm the strong person. I'm the one that, I mean, I'm the one the helpers come to. I'm the one, the physicians and the nurses and the people who sacrifice a lot to be of service.

I'm the one they come to. The ones who take care of others, they come to me for me to carry them. And now people cared enough to, first of all, to even, usually I would have to ask for help, which I always struggle with anyway, but not only did they notice what was going on, they offered to help. And then they didn't let me go until I'd learned to receive the help. And I had to really work on trusting, which took me, it took me a long time. I had to really work on trusting enough to receive the help. And they were strong enough. They were so buff. I don't know what I was thinking, but I just felt like maybe I would inconvenience them or maybe that I would be too

heavy for them and they would probably collapse and not meet their goal. But they carried me, they carried me the whole time and they were happy to do it meet their goal. But they carried me. They carried me the whole time. And they were happy to do it. They loved me enough to like notice I was struggling. And then they were just so present with me and they loved me enough to watch and make sure I was okay before letting me hold myself up again. I realized that was a turning point for me.

It was the first time I'd really allowed myself to let go and let others carry me like that. It was just such a powerful moment in my life. Literally everything was falling apart in my life. And I didn't even know how to ask for help or receive and to have this like physical metaphor. It was just so powerful. And it's one of my favorite memories ever. It really changed how I show up in my life and also changed how I, I looked at people, the people who are really strong in my life. I really keep an eye out for them and check in and see how they're doing. And if they need any, if they need me to slide under and lift them up, but there's,

there are good people in the world who really care. I could go on and on, but that's it. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not, just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton.

Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes.

The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were gonna be fun. On January 24th.

Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're gonna die. Don't shoot him, we need him! Y'all need a pilot? Flight Risk. story, a love poem and a challenge to create beautiful moments in your life, even when it seems they're near impossible to come by. So my name is NQ and I'm a poet, but my real name is

Adam Schmalholtz. And as with anyone else who has a real name, I also have a real life. And I decided to ask my girlfriend to marry me recently. And I told her we were meeting friends for dinner in this outdoor space. And so I let her out to this giant field that she had never been in before. And I turned her around and I said, hey, you know, before we meet our friends, can I read you this poem that I wrote about you? And she said, now? Like before dinner? And I said, yeah. And she said, well, is it going to make me cry? And I said, yeah, probably. And she said, now? Like before dinner? And I said, yeah. And I grabbed her hands and I read her this poem.

Every love poem I ever wrote was about you. You are every dream I've ever had. Now they've come true. You are every dream I've never had. Somehow they've come true. I gaze into your eyes and know there'll never be a better view. I see heaven in your face. I see heaven in your face. I see children in your smile.

I see our future and our present. Will you stay with me a while? Will you dance without the music? Will you laugh without the jokes? Will you cry without a reason? Will you play with all the notes? I've come to love you in a way that is impossible to quote. Forever and a day is not enough.

Forever is a joke. Any moment we're together is forever, now or never. Whether I am in your presence or too far away to measure, I respect you in the pain. I accept you in the pleasure. I'll be your shelter in the rains. I accept you in the pleasure. I'll be your shelter in the rains. You can shine in any weather. Every love poem I wrote was an invisible letter, reaching out beyond my time and space to what I would discover from a place that was unknown to a home inside each other. I'm floating on a cloud. I'm singing in the gutter. Our relationship is sailing

and we do not need a rudder. I don't care where we go from here if here is with each other. Your soul is like a mirror. You're a goddess and a lover. You're a sister and a brother. You're a father and a mother. You're a son and you're a daughter. You're a stranger and a brother. You're a father and a mother. You're a son and you're a daughter. You're a stranger and a friend. Even when I end, our love's not something I can transcend. You're more than just a perfect 10. Your beauty lies behind your skin. It's the way you taste reminding me of everywhere I've been. It's the way you smell reminding me of everywhere I've been. It's the way you smell. Reminding me of everyone I've been. Your sweetness overwhelms me. Can we end where we begin?

I'll only come back to write our stories intertwined again. You're the greatest poem I've ever read. You make me find my pen. You inspire me. It'll take me lifetimes to comprehend. You're my who, what, where, and when. You're my why I even try. I vow to have you and to hold you till the day I say goodbye. I vow for better or for worse as long as you are by my side. I vow to cherish you in sickness and in health until I die.

On our first date, you asked me why I hadn't settled down. I refused to give an answer, but I have your answer now. I was always waiting for you. You're the reason that you asked. My words have never done you justice, but I search for them at last. I've asked myself a thousand questions about who I want to be. I've asked myself a thousand questions to reflect on you and me. I've asked myself a thousand questions, but your love's what set them free. There's only one question left, so I'll ask it on one knee. And just to keep you in real time, that's when I got down on one knee. Andreana, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

I promise I'll do right by you, morning, noon, and night by you. I promise I'll be nice to you, even when I fight with you. I promise I will fight for you. I promise I'll be nice to you even when I fight with you. I promise I will fight for you. I'd even give my life for you. I promise I will write for you. My art is now my life for you. My heart is yours, so on your darkest day, I'll be the light for you. And when you're out past midnight, I promise I'll leave a light for you to guide you home into my open arms if that's all right with you. They say that love is blind, but you're the one that made me see. I've asked myself a thousand questions that have brought you here to me. I've asked myself a thousand questions, but our love is what set them free.

There's only one question left. Will you marry me? And that's when she said yes. And we kissed and we hugged. And the guy that I had hired to take pictures who was hiding in the bushes jumped out. It was quite a scene. And then I'd set up this picnic like 30 yards away. And so we walked over there and had like a vegan feast that was all set up and enjoyed the sunset. And it was a really beautiful moment. And I guess the reason that I wanted to tell you this story is because I think we're all responsible for creating beautiful moments right now. I mean, there is an enormous amount of pain and suffering in the world, but we will never get this time back. And so I think it's up to us to change the narrative,

either in big ways or in small ways. And we did that. So when we look back on this summer, we have this beautiful memory. And so I leave you with that. Find a way to change the narrative in your life and know that I'm sending you love. Next up is good friend and author of the beautiful book on being human, Jen Pasteloff. So in Before Times, she traveled the world with her unique workshop on being human and really inspires others through her personal essays and teachings. And Jen brings us a story of generosity and a plane ticket that reminded her how good people can be. Here's Jen. So it was January, January in Los Angeles, which is to say it was like July or May or any other month in Los Angeles. And the year was, what was the year? I believe it was 2006. I was waiting tables at the same restaurant I had been

waiting tables at for many years. I got it as a summer job. It ended up being a 14-year job. I was waiting tables at the restaurant in West Hollywood that I had been at for many years, and I was wearing platform shoes, as I was prone to do back then on concrete. I'm a small person, and I apparently couldn't come to terms with that, so I wore Steve Madden platform shoes and destroyed my back. But nonetheless, I was tall while I waited tables. So I had these regulars. I loved them, Debra and Scott, and they would come in.

Later I found out they would come in because their therapist was upstairs. Many people's therapist was upstairs. And so they'd come in and they'd get a bite before or after. And usually you could tell by the mood if it was before or after. So they sat in my section as they always did. I just adored them. I loved them. I believe it was their second marriage, and they were just the loveliest people. And my sister was living outside of Atlanta, Georgia. My sister had just had a baby, and something was wrong. Something was wrong, and we didn't know what it was. And I didn't have money. I was a server. I mean, I had enough money to pay my bills, but I certainly didn't have enough money to hop on a plane last minute. So I am waiting on my regulars. There

they are. And I look like a clown because there I am in my platform shoes and mascara was running down my face and I was trying to, you know, rub it in and look a little less disheveled. Mascara is running down my face because there's something wrong with the baby and they don't know what it is. He's in the NICU, the neonatal intensive care unit. And they immediately sense, because they're loving, compassionate, wonderful people, they immediately sense something is wrong. They say, Jennifer, what's going on?

I notice their table is wobbly. I say, Raimundo, I need a wedgie for the table. Raimundo comes, puts a wedgie. I say, nothing's wrong. Do you want the usual? They say, yes. I go, I put their order in for their soup and sandwich combos and their chocolate chip cookies and their honor palmers. And I come back and they say, we know something's wrong. What is it? And I say, my sister just had a baby. His name is Blaze. And they don't know if he's going to live or die. They don't know what's going on. Failure to thrive. It's called he's in the NICU. And I'm sobbing. And they say, well, you have to go and be with them in Atlanta. Be with her. And I say, this was my classic excuse back then. Well, I have to, you have to go and be with them in Atlanta, be with her. And I say, this was my

classic excuse back then. Well, I have to work. The beauty of working in a restaurant, I think the most beautiful thing is literally all you have to do is have your body be replaced by another body. They don't care. Just get your ship covered. But the other big factor was I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket last minute. It was, you know, $800 more than I had. So they said, you have to go. And I said, well, it's not possible. And I go and I get their food and they bring it to them. And they said, you're going, you're going, we're flying you there tomorrow. We're flying you there tomorrow. I don't even know if I knew their last name at this point. And there was no hesitation. There was no questions asked in terms of, you know, a big dialogue between them.

Like, can we afford to do this? Or should we do this? They just saw me, someone in distress who they adored, just like I adored them. This dynamic that you develop often with people where you may not even know their last name, but you kind of fall in love with them as human beings. And they said, you're going. And it was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for me. It was just pure generosity, pure the embodiment of I got you, which is the

tattoo that I wear now on my wrist that I got about a year and a half ago. But they exemplified what I got you is. And so I'm there holding their Arna Palmas, refilling it, crying, accepting the plane ticket. I said yes, and I went, and there was a layover. And it was snowing at one point. And I just remember looking out the window and thinking about the kindness of strangers.

Now, they weren't necessarily strangers as if, you know, just a stranger on the street. But nonetheless, if it weren't for the kindness of strangers. Now, they weren't necessarily strangers as if, you know, just a stranger on the street. But nonetheless, if it weren't for the kindness of strangers, and I got there and my nephew was in the NICU, I believe for about 12 days, and it was awful, and they couldn't figure out what's wrong. And they didn't figure out for two whole years, actually, he has Prader-Willi syndrome. But nonetheless, I came back to the restaurant with a restored faith in people. Because let me tell you, if you've never worked in a restaurant, you can easily lose faith in people. So I came back with a renewed sense of humanity and what it means to be kind and to serve another. And the irony of

that was I was serving them, but really they were serving me. And how that story came full circle was a few years back, I had now quit the restaurant. I was leading all these workshops around the world. I was successful. I would get recognized in airports. And who do I see on a plane in a layover in Dallas? Yep, the husband. And I just, I got emotional. I took a photograph and it was just one of those things. And it just, it felt magical. It felt magical. So be open to the kindness of others and be willing to receive. I was willing to receive and they were willing to give. And it made this perfect, perfect moment of humanity.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum.

Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is?

You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot. Flight Risk. Next up is Dan Stone, someone who deals in currencies of hugs, laughs, and inclusion for everyone. This husband, dad of three, and fanatic for the outdoors shares a tale of a mountain cabin nearly lost, if not for some incredible heroism with a very special personal touch that will surprise you and move you pretty deeply. Here's Dan. This cabin, we purchased it with my in-laws about four years ago. And so they're retired school teachers. They saved up

their whole life and finally came to us and said hey can you help us find a place in the mountains we said sure that sounds great and so we did we found that place fell in love with it as soon as we set foot out on the deck it's absolutely majestic we always say it's definitely not a million dollar cabin but it's a million dollar view and we've spent quite a bit of time over the last few years, especially this year. We've probably spent about half of our time up there. And I lost my job earlier this summer. And so it's been definitely great to get up there. And we use it to hike and camp and kayak and canoe and anything and everything we can do to get out and enjoy Colorado.

It's our how do you Colorado? This is how we Colorado. And it all starts at the cabin and so yeah just a respite from all of the craziness that we endured this year so we took a trip up there on October 15th go spend the weekend and get some hiking in and we're driving up and we come through the town of Granby and we had no idea that there was a fire burning at that point until we came around the corner and saw the billowing smoke rising above the mountains behind the town. And we just kind of looked at each other. I tried to continue driving safely while we were distracted by this plume of smoke.

I'm like, oh, what's going on? And so my wife is checking the news as we're driving along and just looking at the smoke and blacks out the sun. It was very surreal in that moment. Kind of like, oh, oh my goodness, there's a fire. And so we arrived at the cabin and our cabin was right in the middle of the thickest part of the smoke at that point. So the fire was still probably about 30 miles away at that point. And you couldn't go outside. It was not safe to go outside. This isn't good.

And of course, with our house being in the line of the smoke, we knew that the wind was blowing the fire in our direction, right? So there's that not so subtle reminder that you're in the path. And we stayed overnight, but just that one night and we decided, okay, why don't we grab the things that are absolutely irreplaceable, right? The paintings that grandma painted, the photos that we had there. We didn't have a whole lot of room in the car because we didn't pack with evacuation in mind, right? So we filled up what little space we had in the minivan and drove back to Arvada. And we talked about how we wanted to handle things. And I said, well, if you look at

these other fires and the maps around them, there are areas that are voluntary evacuation. So it goes pre-evacuation, voluntary evacuation, mandatory. And so I said, here's what we'll do. We'll get the irreplaceable stuff. I will keep a close eye on the evacuation status. And once it gets to voluntary, if it gets to that point, we'll bring the cars up and we just kept a really close eye on the website that shows where the fire boundary is. At that point, you're getting an update once a day, twice a day, if you're lucky to see like how it's spreading and where it's going. So it's not a whole lot of update. So definitely this feeling of being out of the loop and not knowing what the actual status is up there. And it's a very unsettling feeling to just not know and to not have access to something that can give you

an update in real time. And so we watched for a couple of days and watched for the voluntary evacuation notice. And I woke up Thursday morning, October 22nd, and my wife was standing over, over my right shoulder in the office. And I opened it up to show her where the boundary is and it refreshed and it popped up. And I thought it was an error. I thought it was a mistake. I thought somebody had not drawn the line in the correct place because it was now within a couple miles of our place and within a couple of miles of Grand Lake and within a couple of miles of Granby. And like to look at it and see that, oh my goodness, like towns are in jeopardy. Entire towns may just be wiped off the face of the map. I've never really felt that level of desperation before, right?

Nothing you can do, right? If you can't save a town from a wildfire, it leaves you feeling very helpless. And so it was tough. It was tough. So we went from that morning, went from, okay, we're probably okay. It's still 30 miles away. Yes, the wind's blowing, but it's not moving fast enough that it would get to us before snow hits. Then to wake up that morning and transition immediately into, oh my gosh, the cabin's gone. There's no way. If it's spread a hundred thousand acres since yesterday and we're just two miles away from the burn line. There's no way. And so we started to have those discussions with the kid that we probably lost the cabin. There's not much likelihood that it will survive this fire because it looked like it would burn right up to the edge of the lake, which would certainly take us out. So, you know, in that moment and something to be thankful for, you know, we try to see the silver lining as well.

And we remind ourselves they're just things. This is our cabin. Right. We still have a home. We still have each other. We're safe, we're healthy. And so in that moment of sadness, you know, it was a good reminder to sit down with family and say, Hey, what is most important? Right. And really focus on that. And that gave us a great chance to do that with the kids and really kind of try and maintain positivity and an upbeat outlook. And that uncertainty was very difficult to get through because, you know, they drew that line two miles from our house the day before, and we know we're not going to get an actual update until the next day. Right. So in that time period, I guess we kind of wanted to know when it was burning, right? In that moment, you want to just be able to, to grieve and then get

past it. But it was just a constant flux of maybe. And we have one of our neighbors who's up there. We discovered he has a family friend in one of the fire departments up there. And so the next morning the text came in and he said, well, I heard from my friend who's a firefighter and he said that the fire is right behind our places and blowing towards us. And he said, so it's not looking good. So then we, in that moment, swing back from, from hope to desperation and grief and all of those emotions that come with the feeling of a loss like that. And so at that point, I posted a little note on Twitter, just kind of an ode to the cabin and posted a couple of photos of it and the view and, you know, and got some very heartfelt sorries and people reaching out, you know, again, the shining light

in a sea of darkness, people reaching out and sharing their hearts and saying sorry and grieving with us. And it was really nice to see that, that humanity come out. And then I guess it was maybe a few hours after that, that we got a video from our friend and neighbor from his friend, the firefighter of our hillside on fire and the firefighters trying to save it. And it was absolutely overwhelming because you want to know that status and you want to know when things are happening. And that was our first glimpse of like in real time, these folks are standing in the smoke. They're bringing in hundreds and hundreds of feet of fire hose to try and

save our hillside. And you can see flare ups in the video. And one of those flare ups that you can see is right in front of our house. So very, very emotional moment. And then we got word that the structure was still standing. But the ones that were still there were damaged. So there's still a lot of big question marks that moment. And then in addition to that, okay, tonight, it's going to get down to seven degrees. And we didn't drain the plumbing at that moment. And then in addition to that, okay, tonight it's going to get down to seven degrees and we didn't drain the plumbing before we left. And so to go straight

from fire to ice overnight. And so the sheriff's department up there, they did an amazing job of coordinating some volunteer contractors who could go around in that last minute and turn off water to as many homes as they possibly could to save them from freezing and flood. So we got a call from the contractor when he was headed towards our property. And he's a really nice guy. His name is Mike Dixon. And he said, is this, you know, is yours the blue house with a canoe hanging under the deck. I said, yeah, it is. Which one told me that the deck was still there. The canoe was still, was still hanging, um, which was a good sign. Um, but he walked around and for, I don't know, it felt you got lucky. And I sat down at that point.

It was a little bit much, you know, it was that first moment where it might actually be okay. And he said, we can't see everything because of the snow. So I can't tell you, but he says, I see blue paint on all four sides of your house. So he, he went down and turned off the plumbing, drain the pipes, um, everything like that, got through that part of the process. And he gets to the door to leave and he said, Oh, Hey man, there's, there's a note here. Do you want me to read it? I said, yeah, please do. And he read the note to me. And it just, I don't know, I can't recall a time when I've felt something so powerful as when he read that note to me. He says, if this note finds you, we must have done something right. Sorry for the loss of your shed. And we had to cut a little of your wood fence to save your house. Things got really hot. We stayed as long as possible. And so it just took my breath away. It took away everything I had left at that point. And it was, I don't know, it came to symbolize that moment, that first bit of towards good, back towards positive, back towards,

you know, hope, humanity, kindness, all of these things that we've been missing this year. Good news. We've been missing this year. And it was too much to not share with folks at that point. You know, I was just so touched. And so I had Mike text me a picture of the note, which I immediately put on Twitter. You know, all this being said, we were very, very fortunate. And there are a lot of people up there who were not fortunate in this moment. A lot of people that got out at the last minute with their lives and that's it. And so anyways, just, it was good to be able to share some good and to say thank you for something that's so. And so anyways, just, it was good to be able to share some good and to say, thank you for something that's so courageous and to share what happened in those moments, to share that

life, to share that humanity from the firefighters and shine that spotlight on that. Cause we hear about, you know, the firefighters are risking their lives, but it's not very often we get to see that and get a glimpse into what's really there, the human being behind the firefighting mask, right? And, you know, one of the things that we saw when we went to the cabin on Sunday, the note says things got really hot. We stayed as long as we could. We looked through the wreckage that used to be our tool shed,

which sits about 15 feet from our deck. And some of the tools that we had in there were made of aluminum. And things got so hot that the aluminum turned molten and ran down the hillside and re-hardened in kind of that lava flow pattern. And fun fact, aluminum melts at 1,220 degrees. So, you know, we were probably looking at a fire that was about 1,500 degrees burning right there, 15 feet from our house. And they stood there between 1,500 degree tool shed and our home. And in that 15 feet saved it, the burn line is actually within six feet. Um, and to, to save it within six feet after 40 miles, it's incredible. It's incredible,

you know? So, but I think the most important aspect of all of this is to say thank you and to say it as loud as I possibly can and to encourage others to do the same. And thank you to everybody that is out there donating, sharing, giving, and putting love out into the world. We need that. We need that. And I'm grateful for that. I'm more grateful for all of those things than I've ever been in my life. Hey, so our final storyteller in today's second episode of The Hug is Vancouver-based actor, audiobook narrator, audiobook coach, and old friend and chosen family member, Erin Moon. Erin and I first met nearly two decades ago, I want to say, when she wandered into my yoga studio in Hell's Kitchen, New York. She is quite literally kindness embodied. And she's bringing

the hug home with a short story that involved, well, me, which makes me a little bit uncomfortable, to be honest with you. But the team here kind of felt like it was the right story to bring this all home. It also involves a bunch of our friends at a really tender time. Excited to share it with you. So here's Erin. I have this friend who has been friend and mentor for many years of my life. And we fell out of touch with one another. And when we got back in touch with each other, because we kept springing up in each other's lives in random places all over New York City, and we reconnected online in a podcast called The Good Life Project.

And I had shared in that podcast the last four years of my life, which had been filled with a lot of incredible pain and incredible learning that I was still learning and am still learning around my husband getting sick with cancer and fighting it and losing that battle. And my kind of process through that and after that. And we'd been married 10 years and through really informative years, as I reflect back, you know, from age 25 to 35. So just really, really informative, big times in growth. And I had moved out of New York City, where I had lived for 13 years. And I'd been living in Vancouver, Canada for like maybe a month. And it was time for the podcast to come out. And, oh, it makes me want to cry thinking about how kind this is. That morning, I got a really beautiful text from him. And I also got a whole bunch of check-in emails and phone calls and texts from a core

group of women that we were both friends with and that he knew were a big part of my life. Because he had called all of them to let them know that that day was going to be a hard day maybe for me to listen to myself tell my story. And it was one of the kindest and most thoughtful acts of friendship. And I've had a lot, a lot from my friends and family sure that I had enough of a community around me to buoy me up on what might have been a very lonely day. And yeah, it's beautiful. It's one of those cry beauty ones. But that's one of my good stories.

Hey, so I hope that you have enjoyed The Hug, these two episodes. That brings this two-part series to a close, at least for now. So much gratitude to our amazing, big-hearted, open, vulnerable storytellers who made this possible and contributed their moments and hearts in a ridiculously short amount of time so that we could make these episodes happen for you. So we could wrap you and this last week up in one big Story Meets Audio hug from our Good Life Project family to you. If you haven't listened to part one of the hug, be sure to download it and listen now. It was just about a week ago. And if these stories have warmed you up or reconnected you with a sense of shared humanity and possibility, even just a little bit, maybe you know someone else who might need to hear them too

right now, especially now. If there were ever episodes we'd love you to share with friends and family, it's these hug episodes because we all need stories that remind us of the good side of human beings more than ever before. And if the stories have moved you and you'd love us to do more episodes like this, let us know on Instagram or email or in a review on your favorite listening app. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Jonathan Fields, signing out for Good Life Project. X is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist,

whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later

required. Charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were gonna be fun. On January 24th Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're gonna die. Don't shoot if we need him!

Y'all need a pilot? Flight Risk.