Best of Ourselves Podcast

When words fail us, what remains? Marcia shares a deeply personal reflection on caregiving, uncertainty, and the moments when experience reaches beyond language. Inspired by John O’Donohue’s blessing Beannacht, this episode offers quiet companionship for anyone navigating life’s darker waters. Resources Beannacht from To Bless the Space Between Us Living in Uncertainty The post BOO530 – When Words Are Not Enough appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

After thinking about Mary Jo Leddy’s talk “Surprised by Goodness”, I wondered how much kindness I do overlook each day?  Where can I extend a bit more kindness? Resources Self Kindness – Neff Self-Kindness – Germer Random Acts of Kindness Cultivating Appreciation The post BOO528 – Encore – Finding More Kindness appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Silence can be a gift. The pause helps us step back from reactivity, gain perspective, and listen for something deeper than our internal chatter. But not all silence serves us. Sometimes silence protects comfort, allows harmful systems to continue unchecked, or keeps us from living our values fully. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 speech A Time to Break Silence, this episode explores the tension between discernment and complicity, and the challenge of using our voices in service of love rather than fear, division, or self-righteousness. Resources Using My Voice Silence: A Refuge or a Hiding Place The post BOO524 – A Time to Break the Silence appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Living from an appreciative stance can increase your life expectancy, resilience and creativity.  And it is hard to do.  This episode makes a case for increasing appreciation in our days and shares a few tips. Resources: Dr Rick Hanson on hardwiring our brain for happiness Brother David Steindl-Rast TED talk The post BOO523 – Encore – Cultivating Appreciation appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Catching herself in a cycle of avoidance and self-judgment, Marcia explores the familiar urge to fix what feels off—and why that approach often backfires. Through a moment of honest reflection, she uncovers what was really underneath and discovers a quieter, more powerful starting point: acceptance. Not as a strategy, but as a doorway to real change. Resources Grounded Presence Living in Uncertainty The post BOO521 – Beyond Judging and Fixing Ourselves appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

A simple, unexpected note interrupts a cycle of stress and worry, reminding us how easily we overlook everyday acts of kindness. This reflection explores how small, ordinary moments of care—across differences and in our own communities—quietly sustain us, if we remember to notice them. Resources Kindness Changes Everything The post BOO520 – The Bright Spots We Almost Miss appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

When life changes and familiar roles fall away, it’s easy to feel unmoored. This reflection explores the quiet invitation in those moments—to pause, listen, and remember we are more than the roles we’ve played. Resources Connected or Separate?  – The Wave Story The post BOO519 – Who Am I Now? appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

In this episode, I reflect on a familiar story about an elephant held in place not by a rope, but by a belief that trying no longer matters. Living in northern Minnesota, and hearing directly from friends and family witnessing events in the Twin Cities, I explore how that same limiting story shows up in moments when constitutional rights are being tested. Drawing on the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments—and Martin Luther King Jr.’s wisdom about power and love—I name what it means for ordinary people to stand together lawfully and nonviolently. This is a reflection on civic courage, community, and why showing up, even without certainty, is how democracy is sustained. The post BOO506 – When Trying Still Matters appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

A casual question during a cell phone upgrade sparked an unexpected political exchange—and a deeper inquiry into how we meet one another across difference. This episode reflects on presence, sacred engagement, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s reminder that love and power must work together if we’re to create justice and avoid becoming what we oppose. Resources Healing the Divide The post BOO505 – An Unexpected Lesson at the Cell Phone Store appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

A Thanksgiving moment went wrong—a small dog, a sudden crisis, and my brain completely freezing. What followed wasn’t competence or quick thinking, but a powerful lesson in how stress disconnects us from our bodies. In this episode, I reflect on what that scare revealed about presence, uncertainty, and the quiet wisdom our bodies carry—especially during long, difficult seasons. A reminder that when answers aren’t available, staying honest with what’s here may be enough. The post BOO503 – What a Holiday Scare Taught Me About Presence appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

What if strength isn’t something we build for ourselves alone? Inspired by the Grand Portage Band’s response to the closure of our local Coast Guard station, this reflection explores how Indigenous wisdom challenges our dominant story of competition, scarcity, and separateness—and invites us into a different way of living, grounded in connection, love, and shared belonging. Resources Imprisoned by Our Story Suffocating What Do You See? The post BOO501 – Choosing Love in a World Built on Dominance appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Being human isn’t tidy. In this episode, I share two moments—one small, one life-shaking—that pulled me right into the rawness of shame, fear, and uncertainty. What I’m learning is this: the struggle isn’t a failure. It’s the place where honesty and grace can actually reach us. Resources Living in Uncertainty The post BOO499 – The Trouble of Being Human appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

A frown, a misunderstanding, and a lesson I’m still practicing: most of the time, it’s not about us. Here’s what that moment taught me about assumptions, boundaries, and staying true to ourselves. Resources Don’t Take It Personally The post BOO498 – The Frown appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Ever had a day where everything goes sideways at once? Mine included dog poo, burr-covered terriers, a broken garage door, and a nurse cheering for Tom’s phlegm. This episode explores what happens when we let go of how life “should” be and meet what’s real—with humor, honesty, and a bit of Anne Lamott–style grace. Photo: […] The post BOO497 – Loosening the Should Knots appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Burnout doesn’t always show up as exhaustion—it can appear as impatience, numbness, or a heart that quietly tightens to get through the day. In this episode, Marcia Hyatt reflects on recognizing her own signs of burnout while navigating her husband’s medical care and life’s constant demands. Through the image “It’s hard to hold hands with a tight fist,” she explores how stress can close us off and how gentleness, awareness, and small acts of care can help us soften, recover, and reconnect—with ourselves and those we love. Resources Breathe Living in Uncertainty The post BOO495 – The Medicine of Gentleness appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

How much do we share — and with whom? In this week’s Best of Ourselves episode, I explore the fine line between privacy and authenticity… and what it means to let a little more light in through the cracks in our lives. Resources Help, Please: Lessons From An IKEA Box The Should Shower The post BOO494 – How Much To Share? appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Life doesn’t come in neat categories of good or bad. In this reflection, I explore how staying open to the mystery can transform how we meet whatever arrives. Resources Living in Uncertainty The post BOO493 – Bad Luck – Maybe Not appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

Some Assembly Required. Turns out that’s not just a warning on an IKEA box—it’s a reminder about life. In this week’s show, I confess to my habit of saying “We’re fine” when we’re really… not. From sleepless nights to bolts and Allen wrenches, I discovered that asking for help isn’t weakness—it’s actually a gift to both giver and receiver. Because maybe the real self-care isn’t doing it all ourselves, but remembering we were never meant to—life is always better assembled together. Resources Living in Uncertainty Kindness Changes Everything The post BOO491 – Help, Please: Lessons from an IKEA Box appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

I used to think “living one day at a time” meant glowing serenity. But lately it looks more like noticing my cranky, overtired self and walking her home before she has a meltdown. This show explores the messy, human side of being present in the moment. Resources Living With Uncertainty Resilience or What The post BOO490 – One Day At A Time, Sort Of appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.

In this episode, I share how unexpected gestures of kindness have touched me more deeply than I ever imagined. From potatoes harvested to simple words of encouragement, these acts have softened old walls around my heart. Together we’ll explore how the heart opens—not by force, but by tending the conditions of worthiness, courage, and compassion. Resources Kindness in Action How to Open the Heart by Jeff Foster Taking a Stand for Kindness The post BO488 – Kindness Changes Everything appeared first on Marcia Hyatt.