Everything about being a radio show host is new to me. I definitely have a big learning curve going on with this new venture. Stretching usually is wonderful, and can also be quite stressful. This last show, I would say was both stretch and stress for me. When I called in on Skype, the first thing the engineer said was that he was hearing static from me. He was quite supportive as I started pulling out various cords and putting them back in, nothing helped. Was it the headset, computer, or microphone? He then said we had one minute before the show and wasn’t sure how to proceed with the sound so bad. Inside I was panicking. What was I to do? I had no idea what to do. He said it did sound a little better and to go ahead with the show.
The guest, Anne Millman, who I interviewed, was also unfamiliar with this process. I recently met Anne while searching for a Quan Yin statue, when I found myself on the phone with www.statue.com talking with a very delightful person. Very early in the conversation I realized that this woman had such a wonderful attitude about life that I would be talking about her on the show. I ordered my statue, and considered asking her to come on the show, but stopped short of making the request. A few days later, as the show grew closer, and I couldn’t get Anne out of my thoughts, I contacted her and got her to agree to an interview. Quan Yin is considered a goddess of compassion, so not only did I get a statue of compassion, but met a woman who exemplifies compassion. Anne did join in on the show, and was quite amazing with the interview.
Another element of the show that I’ve been trying to bring in is to have a portion of the show be a community forum with lively questions and sharing. The first show was absolutely wonderful with plenty of calls and lots of sharing; the second show didn’t go as well. The last ten-minute segment of the show was set-aside for callers and questions, which means that I did not have anything set to talk about during that time. With no callers, I had to think fast on my feet, finally someone did, and boy was I thrilled, thank you Geraldine!
My compassion for show hosts is rising by the week. I also had the opportunity to have compassion for myself through this opportunity. Life does give us opportunities to grow, and I appreciate that.When I agreed to take on the 13-week weekly one-hour show, I had no idea on what was involved in creating and putting on a show. I can only say that I am so grateful for the love and support through this very stretching and joy filled chapter in my life. I hope you are enjoying the show. You can watch the second below. Hope your day is full of loving ups!
I appreciate your sharing this, Janese, for two reasons. One was, and I had to laugh when you revealed what was going on, I had the impression that you were distracted, and had been wondering if there was a mouse lose in the studio! 🙂 That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the exchange between you and Anne…yes, she’s delightful, and I can see why you wanted her to share her own story. Something you said has also stuck with me, the information you shared about the two kinds of happiness. I had never thought of happiness as other than one state of being, but immediately realized the importance of the distinction. Our culture is overrun with the pursuit of “hedonic” happiness, which, when found, is fleeting at best. So the pursuit continues, punctuated by all those moments of suffering and distress over not having it. “Eudaimonic” happiness runs deeper and is much more stable, more rewarding on both counts. And isn’t that what we’re here for? Fulfilling our true “purpose” and contributing to the greater good, isn’t that at the core of our earthschool spiritual journey? And how many of us are out of alignment with that, and what does that look like? Ugh! I googled “two types of happiness” to find out more about this, and found http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/30/health/happy-genes/. Instant gratification and materialism in of themselves, hmm, yes, I can certainly see how ill health and dis-ease would result. We are out of alignment with our true purpose. I also found an article with a slightly different take on the matter. At http://www.johnplaceonline.com/purpose-and-meaning/two-types-of-happiness-increase-both/, he focuses more on a moment-to-moment kind of happiness as well as the happiness that can be derived from a holistic evaluation of your overall life, getting back to purpose. I like his suggestions for improving both, especially as gratitude, a positive attitude and sharing will likely feed from one to the other. What if we take a moment to experience gratitude when we get that ice-cream cone we’re craving? Or, as you so often do, reframe the experience of not getting something, as positive: stress or stretch, as it were. Or share what we do have, as a way of punctuating how much that really is? If we take hedonic happiness to a deeper level, might we not help to build upon that eudaimonic happiness (that inner peace) we all truly want?
Wow Jillian, You sure found a lot on the internet about the two types of happiness. I’m looking forward to reading and learning more! Thanks for sharing some practical suggestions.