January 15 2022 is the launch date for my new podcast, “EVER NEW with Kris M. Smith.”  I sincerely hope you’ll tune in for it and send me questions or comments beforehand.

 

As mentioned in an earlier post, it’s going to be a wide-ranging podcast. My target audience includes readers, thinkers, seekers, and non-bigoted folks from all walks of life, young and old, rich and poor and everywhere in between.

 

I want it to be an uplifting, fun hour every two weeks, even though at times we’ll talk about serious topics. There’s far too much lower-energy  stuff on social media and elsewhere. We have serious challenges to overcome but we can’t overcome them when our energy fields are down around our shoes; we need to lift the vibration of our thoughts and interactions so we have enough energy in our physical, mental and spiritual batteries to act on what is needed, instead of feeling exhausted before we even begin.

 

My questions for you right now are these:

“What questions do you have for me to answer on the podcast?” 

“What topics do you look forward to having me cover?”

“Are you willing to engage with me live on air on the topics where you feel confident about discussing them?” 

 

I’m still mulling over the name of the podcast.  If “LIVING OUT LOUD & EVER NEW with Kris M. Smith” isn’t too ponderous a name, I’d like to incorporate both into the title.

 

Most of the people who responded like LIVING OUT LOUD better of the two, but that phrase seems overly used to me, after doing a search on it. It’s the title of a movie, a song, and several other podcasts, one of which is an LGBTQIA+ podcast, and I don’t want to get lost in a crowd because of the name.

 

EVER NEW is less used by far, and none of the people using it are in the same niches I am. (One is a beauty brand, the other a religious program.)  EVER NEW resonates with me more, personally.  Val Chase Barrett and Lisa Twining weighed in liking it best, too. Again, we’re in the minority, but not by much.  Only about seven people have had an opinion (to date)  strong enough to weigh in on their favorite name.

 

Lisa is working on a graphic for the show, something I can put on the Zoom screen behind me. We met yesterday and during brunch we discussed concepts and ideas for the graphic, defining the kind of ambiance I want for it. I’m eager to see what she comes up with, but she’s busier’n a cat covering its “output” in a litter box, so it won’t be any time soon before I get a look at it, I don’t suppose!  There is no huge rush. Launch date is still a month and a week away.

 

In Other News…

 

I’m staying engaged with my exercise regimen.  Yesterday I rowed 2000 strokes (not all at once, at two different times!) and today I rowed 1000 strokes, used the treadmill for 20 minutes and walked four miles because the weather was dry but freaking chilly.  I took my Walkman and played one of my Beverly Glenn Copeland CDs, which lasted all the way around, ending just as I got back in the door.  It’s the perfect length for the four-mile walk.  I will rarely take the five-mile route, but if I do hearing some of the CD again will be fine. I absolutely LOVE it. (Transmissions.)  When I listen to it, I ascend to the place where all is love and bask in the ambiance. I am hoping to retain the elevation when I come off the CD, eventually.  I’m getting there, for sure!

 

Here’s proof!

 

Yesterday when I went to get my INR level checked, I actually initiated a conversation in the waiting room with one of the other people waiting for her finger poke pharmacist to call her in.  I asked her if she was ready for the holidays yet, “whichever ones you celebrates this time of year.” She responded, saying that she doesn’t celebrate holidays or even her birthday, but she said it pleasantly enough that I didn’t feel shut down. I figured she is a Jehovah’s Witness, given that information, so I nodded and responded, “Fair enough!”

 

She asked if I had plans for Christmas, so I shared them. Somehow we got on the topic of civil rights (she’s a Black lady) and I told her the story of how I came to be a civil rights and social justice advocate at the tender young age of eight or nine. After that, we pretty much bonded!

 

Right about then, I was called in for my finger poke and, while I was waiting for the pharmacist to bring back my dosing schedule calendar, I pulled out one of my business cards, hoping to catch the gal in the waiting room again. But when I stepped out of the office I was in, I spotted her leaving the office she had been called into for her finger poke, so I asked if she recognized the name Erin Jones. She wasn’t sure, so I told her Erin is a local author and educator with a new book called BRIDGES TO HEAL US which tells her story and  shows people how to bridge the gap so we can talk about race and find ways to heal and mend the fabric of our society so everyone gets equity. She seemed interested, so I gave her my business card. I hope we’ll connect again soon.

 

Then, as the two of us were leaving the coumadin clinic, a confused-looking Asian gentleman was standing outside the coumadin clinic in the hallway. Noticing his muted but evident distress, I asked if I could help him. He said he was looking for Room 305 and couldn’t find it.  I looked, too, and I didn’t find it, either, so I said to the man, “Please come with me. I’ll bet the coumadin clinic receptionist can figure this out for us.”

 

I took him back to the coumadin clinic where, indeed, the receptionist was well-acquainted with lost patients looking for Room 305 on her floor.  She said to me, “I’ll take this from here,” so I smiled at the gentleman, he thanked me very sincerely for the help, and I went on my way.

 

BOTH of those would have been outside my comfort zone (striking up an initial conversation with a total stranger, especially!) but they seemed as natural and as easy as breathing yesterday.

 

I think my exposure to Deborah King‘s excellent teachings and the virtual conference I attended this past weekend are largely responsible for this, and even for the fact that I’m debuting a podcast.  I’m finally not just saying, but BELIEVING, that we don’t have to be perfect to show up, stand up, and be heard, or to act. We just need to do the best we can. We aren’t broken. We may be bent into pretzels by earlier conditioning, but we’re far from broken!

 

It felt really good to interact.  I am seeing people these days, no longer dedicated to trying to disappear into the woodwork and remain as invisible and disinterested as possible to the other people with whom I’m sharing the same public spaces. (Erin Jones’s book helped me in this regard, too. In it, she recalls times she struck up conversations with total strangers on airplanes and in other places which led to great collaborations, friendships and otherwise highly unlikely experiences.)

 

It’s a good change.   I will keep it up.