Hi Friend,

You know that feeling when you just had a super cool conversation with someone and you are just so excited to share it with others you are kinda gushy?

That's how I feel about Robert Monson. Fortunately, we recorded the conversation for our podcast, so you can listen to it now too!

Robert's the co-host of the Three Black Men podcast and the Black Coffee and Theology podcast; he's pursuing his PhD in theology, and I'm appreciating his soft, rest-full approach to hard, and often draining, topics. I've recently signed up for his substack, and am enjoying his writing as well.

So I'm delighted to be able to share this new podcast episode with you, which entails our conversation circling around the topics of disability, wellness, America, theology, and learning together. 

It might be one of the first time on the podcast that I  talk about being having diagnosed with a learning disability when I was 9 years old, and the huge impact that has had on my life. These days we would say that I have a neurological divergence - no, nothing to do with autism. Mine is a combination of ADD and a particular form of "perception disorder." The fact that people regularly call upon me to offer them my own unique perspective is, in my opinion, an amusing irony: that which is labeled by our dominant society as a "disorder" is also, at least for me, a gift. Not always an easy gift, mind you, but a gift nonetheless. 

Since recording this conversation, I drafted a chapter for a forthcoming book on Climate Change and Neurodivergence. It won't come out for a while, but the book editor loves the piece.  So I've been thinking much more than I have for many years about disability, neurodivergence, mental and physical health and wellness, climate/ecological changes, and the nature of rest and society. Certainly Monson's work - especially his phrase and related article, "America as a Disabling Apparatus" has been a significant contribution to my recent thinking about some of these intersections.

I hope you enjoy this podcast episode!

And - just as a friendly reminder- this coming Tuesday, for Lunar New Year, is our last public offering in a group session of Circular Time for this season. So if you keep meaning to sign up, this is your last chance to do so!