99. The Sacred and The Mundane: Mia Birdsong, author of ‘How We Show Up’ [reads] ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’

Michael’s new book How to Begin: Start Doing Something that Matters is now available at www.HowToBegin.com.

‘Traveller, there is no path. The path is made by walking.’ 

This is a quote from a poem by early 20th century Spanish poet, Antonio Machado. Though I’ve known about it for 20 years, I’ve only just given it any real thought, and I think it’s slightly subversive - disconcerting, even. Here’s what I now see in the depth of those lines: what seems obvious is not as certain as it appears, what seems built is not as solid as it appears, and what you long for is not yet built - it’s in doing the work that the world we want is created. 

Mia Birdsong is someone who’s making the path by walking. She’s the author of How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community, and she describes herself as a pathfinder and a facilitator on the road to social justice. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ 

Mia reads two pages from ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer. [reading begins at 19:35] 

Hear us discuss: 

Connecting to your longing: “Create enough presence to notice yourself.” [12:13] | Our responsibility to our gifts. [24:49] | Clearing away old stories of yourself. [31:23] | Creating and telling a new story: “Absolutely, we are meant to survive.” [33:54]