The Next Spring: Recent Episodes
Kathleen Goodman
Welcome to The Next Spring, a podcast about renewal and reinvention. After a year of pandemic life, it’s the next spring. Where are we now? What is different, what is the same, and what are these new shoots tenderly emerging in the soil of our lives? In each episode, we will explore a different concept or approach to finding our way through this primordial time, and deciding where to spring next. Hosted by Kathleen Goodman – a longtime student of change and transition, a full-time working mom, and an avid learner who loves to spot the links in disparate ideas from biology to art, from system theory to pop music, and so on.
Transitions can feel like swinging on the monkey bars. You cannot make it to the next bar without committing your full self and being willing to let go of the bar you are holding on to.
This week let's explore the metaphor of climbing a mountain, and how to keep going when you can't see the top.
This week's metaphor has helped lighten my spirits when things inevitably going wrong. Doing anything for the first time is generally bumpy, like the first pancake you put on the griddle.
The first season of this podcast explored the question, "What can you do during a transition?" For Season 2, I will play with the concept of metaphors as a way to understand and shift our relationship to the uncomfortable territory of the space between what was and what will be. Tune in to this first episode to learn a little about metaphors and why this season centers on them.
Welcome back to Season Two of The Next Spring, a podcast about navigating transition. More changes bring more fuel for transition. Join me on November 9th for the first episode! See you then.
It is not pleasant, but regret is an important part of transition. Regretting what I left behind, regretting what could have gone better, even regretting the impact my choices have had on others -- it has all taught me some important lessons.
During this Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., let's take a moment to recall the times each of us have been in a state of flux before. Sometimes, out of the fray where uncertainty reigns, things emerge that we are thankful for today.
The first few episodes have explored some of the more reflective or light aspects to finding our way through the unfamiliar in-between of transition. This week, we delve into a harder part of the process - letting go. Of who we were. Of what we did. Of what we thought we knew. Of where we thought we were going. It's hard and even painful, but we have to shed that skin to find a new path. Books referenced in this episode: Transitions by William Bridges Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges by Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer River of Doubt by Candace Millard Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
While it gets a bad rap for being silly or "not what serious people do," play can be an important way to rest your mind on something different and open up room for new ideas, synthesize a myriad of thoughts, or find a new passion that cracks open a new way forward. This week we'll look at all the ways play can help us explore the unknown. Resources mentioned in this episode: Hidden Brain podcast "https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569907638/the-carpenter-vs-the-gardener-two-models-of-modern-parenting (Kinder-gardening)" aired May 28, 2018 Working Identity by Hermina Ibarra
When we are in the throes of transition, rest can give our brains and our hearts space to process. Sometimes, when it looks like nothing is happening, vital breakthroughs are ripening. This week we'll explore a bit about rest itself, what it does for us, and a few common ways of getting some rest. Books referenced in this episode: Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang Wintering by Katherine May
Getting away from it all can help open new views. Take a few days, find a lovely spot, be alone, and see what emerges. In this episode, a few ideas from my experience and perspectives from others. Books mentioned in this episode: Wintering by Katherine May Transitions by William Bridges
A time-honored way of sorting ourselves out and of listening to the emergent themes that our hearts and minds are holding is to write. Whether you are an avid writer or hate the very idea of it, you might find one small thing to try here. Give a listen to my own experiences with it, and some ideas on how you might give it a try. Books referenced in this episode: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Songwriting without Boundaries by Pat Pattinson, The Power of Writing it Down by Allison Fallon, and Writing Down the Bones, The True Secret of Writing, and Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg.
Welcome to the first episode! In the pilot, you'll get a sense for how this podcast came to be, a bit about my story, and some of the concepts that underpin the content for season one. Tune in, and subscribe to catch the interesting and practical stuff coming this season. Books referenced in this episode: Transitions by William Bridges, Thrive by Arianna Huffington.