How to Be a Grownup

If you'd told me a year ago that Rob Bell would be my first guest on this silly little podcast, I never would have believed you. But here we are! Welcome. In this episode, Rob and I talk about his new book, Where'd You Park Your Spaceship, which is delightful by the way. We also talk about hope, the Atlantic Ocean, and of course...how to be a grow up. If you have a question, topic to explore, or thought you'd like to contribute to this podcast, send me a dm on Instagram @madelinellong

Here is a quote I read in an email that goes very nicely with this episode —
“If we stay the course and go through this [dark night], we find our way deeper, deeper, deeper, and then we can see that at any given moment in these ways, through marital love, through parenting, through solitude, through oneness with the world, through silence, through service to community, through art, in any given moment, there can come flashing forth our unexpected proximity to this mystical dimension of union.”
—James Finley

The only thing better than writing boy stories in my journal is telling you about them. Maybe my experiences will empower you to be the right person so you can find the right person. Here goes...

I have not recorded a podcast in a long time, but there is so much going on in my head and heart that may help someone understand themselves. If you chose to listen, I hope you feel understood.  Grace + peace,  Maddie 

This is an episode about consciousness, Saturday School, rap music, spiral dynamics, family dynamics, coronavirus, nothing, and everything. Talking with people is my favorite thing in the world, and I really liked talking with Trace Bell! Saturday School https://robbell.com/portfolio/saturday-school/

 This is a story about death and birth - not as opposites, but natural actions to perpetuate life and growth.  Loss is a cleansing, a stripping. Losing helps you find what you are looking for. What are you losing? What are you finding? And who is beside you? When things fall away, it feels like nakedness - a tree without the leaves. But there is new life coming to fill the space. Let's talk about how we respond to what is falling away. 

This is a story about firetrucks, felons, and listening to the sidewalk. How the heck do we love our neighbors? Let's think about that together. 

Today is a big day for America and the greater world, so I decided to call Bob Goff and ask his advice on how to love our enemies. I hope it gives you hope. 

You can't separate the science from the lived experience and you can't separate the theology from the science. They're all intertwined. This is a conversation about environmental justice, activism, historical oppression, spirituality, and how you can't talk about one of these things without talking about the others. Gregory Simpson is a scientist, pastor, theologian and (STEM) consultant. I did this interview for the Spirituality and Sustainability Global Network, an organization that we both are part of.  It was a conversation that inspired and educated me, and I wanted to share it with you. 

This is a story about my illness and my healing. I talk about living in a psych ward. I talk about having one of the rarest illnesses in the world. I talk about being afraid to speak because I am afraid of judgment.  There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. That crack is also how the light gets out. When I let suffering silence me, cut me off from people and the world, that is where the darkness comes. Pain can crush us, or it can give us a voice, connecting and healing us in ways we never imagined. Pain is something we all share. It is my greatest teacher. I hope that hearing about mine will help you understand yours. 

This episode is a (long) story about what I do for work. I talk about starting my own business straight out of college, making money, finding and communicating with clients, and what being a freelance artist actually feels like. If you have questions that I didn't answer, please send them to @madelinellong on Instagram!  PRACTICE:  Each episode ends with one of these. This is not the learn about Maddie Long show. This is the find out who YOU are show. This week, I'm encouraging you to get out a piece of paper and write down what lights you up. For me, that is talking to people, asking them questions, getting to know them, and highlighting who they are. Practice part 2 - show your work! That is how I built a career from creating things that came from the truest part of me. Happy discovering. 

This is an episode about you.  text version:  https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/quick-personality-test my dad:  https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17956526194083173/