My mom’s 7th life lesson was on the healing power of touch; the way simple, physical gestures like a hand on the chest, a stroke of the forehead, or a hug can calm the nervous system and communicate love without words.

In this episode, we’ll explore how touch can regulate stress and anxiety through somatic practices, how early experiences with affection shape the way we give and receive love, and how the body, especially the gut, holds and communicates emotional truth.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: Whatever Weather by Basket; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: Lemonade, It Flows

Resources:

10 Somatic Exercises and Techniques for Anxiety: Expert-Approved The Gut-Brain Connection

Related Episodes:

Learn the Language of Nature — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 6) - Episode #69

Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68

Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67

Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66

Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64

Journal Prompts:

1. How do you like to be touched by your loved ones? Recall and write about the way a loved one's touch made your body (and mind) feel.

2. Would somatic practices help reduce your overthinking? Write a list of three ways you could explore somatic meditation when faced with anxiety or worry.

3. What has your gut been telling you about the current state of your work or home life? How might listening impact your future?

Please subscribe & leave a review if you enjoyed today's episode.💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

Today's lesson from my mom (lesson 6) is about learning the language of nature. How to let nature inspire your creativity, channel and reflect your emotions and bring comfort and micro-moments of mindfulness into your life.

This episode begins with a spoken-word piece on the subtle ways we are connected to the natural world, from a whale song to moss-covered branches to wind, water, and soil. It’s inspired by my childhood trips to Cape May with my mom, where we heard whale songs, collected pebbles and shells along the shore, and admired the patterns and shapes of driftwood, horseshoe crabs, and jellyfish.

Those same natural objects, patterns, and landscapes would shape our creativity, help us regulate emotions, and now even hold a space for my grief. From found objects to seasonal rhythms to quiet moments of observation, this episode explores how nature makes a creative home for us and offers us companionship through life’s changing seasons.

Let's slow down to notice the natural world and embrace its imperfection and beauty.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: Ocean Meditation by Shimmer; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: Sunbeams are Thrown

Related Episodes:

Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68

Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67

Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66

Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64

Journal Prompts:

1. What nature-inspired motifs or objects do you feel connected to, and why?

2. If your stress had a landscape, what would it look like? What would your relaxation landscape look like?

3. How does nature offer a safe space and container for your emotions, especially when you are dealing with uncomfortable feelings?

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode inspired a connection between you, nature, and your creative spirit.💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

In Part 5 of the Lessons My Mama Taught Me series, I reflect on a powerful truth my mother lived by: being hateful is incompatible with being whole.

The episode opens with a spoken-word poem about the distances we travel to understand one another and how the differences we see on the surface often dissolve when we look more closely. I then share the story of my mother, a white woman raised in a small, religious town, who chose love over prejudice when she married a Black man in the late 1950s and refused to hide her family to satisfy social expectations.

Looking back at her courage feels especially timely given the escalation of racial tensions and violence in the U.S. I also reflect on the words of Frederick Douglass (1845) about the long history of hateful beliefs that are justified under the veil of “Christianity.”

In this episode, we explore:

• how hate limits our ability to live fully,
• how our true values are revealed through the choices we make, and
• how acceptance and compassion create the foundation for a more meaningful life.

At its heart, this episode asks a simple but challenging question: What kind of life can we build if we refuse to let hate take root in our hearts?

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: The Games We Play by Nu Alkemi$t; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: Vellumed Eyes

Related Episodes:

Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67

Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66

Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode 64

Journal Prompts:

1. Write about a prejudice that you overcame. What helped you understand it and let it go?

2. How are you accepting people as they are, and how do those feelings of acceptance impact your life in a positive way?

3. How do you define Christian values? Write about the role of accepting others in that definition.

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode made you think about how love and acceptance make you whole. 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

What happens when we give without thinking about what we’ll get back?

In this episode, I explore the quiet power of generosity and everyday kindness. How do our small, everyday giving acts shape our identity and strengthen human connection? A smile on a crowded street. Holding the door. Driving a friend home. Doing someone’s laundry when they’re overwhelmed.

These gestures may seem minor, but they ripple outward in powerful ways. In today's episode, we’ll reflect on:

• Giving without keeping score
• Why generosity strengthens self-respect
• How presence and attention are often the greatest gifts
• The surprising ways giving returns to us

Giving isn’t transactional. It’s transformational.

💜Give because someone needs it.
💛Give because connection helps define our humanity.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: 10X by Ghost Beatz; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: Sweet & Fizzy

Related Episodes:

Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66

Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode 64

Mother Teresa on Doing Small Things with Great Love - Episode #48

Journal Prompts:

1. What’s something that another person has given you that had a big impact on your day or life? How did the giving change you?

2. What’s something you’ve given to someone else that had a big impact on their day or life? How did giving change you?

3. What things are easy for you to give, and what things feel difficult? Explore the differences in ways of giving.

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode made you look at your giving in a new light. 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

What if one of life’s quiet superpowers is noticing?

What if noticing those things brings you closer to knowing yourself, to connecting with yourself, to cherishing yourself?

Sounds like pretty powerful stuff for a no-cost, simple act, and yet we don’t do it nearly enough.

In this episode, I reflect on the third lesson my mother taught me: take notice of little, beautiful things, especially nature. Through spoken word poetry, memories of my mom, reflections on motherhood, and the wisdom of Mary Oliver, we explore how noticing beauty through our five senses can ground us, soften regret, and reconnect us to purpose.

From ocean water and wild geese to ginger flowers, scallops, and morning birdsong, this episode is an invitation to slow down, savor, and sit with the small moments that quietly save us.

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

If you like the podcast, visit my website: lettheverseflow.com for more inspirational insights and resources, and sign up for Flow & Voice, a free monthly note with short, practical reflections on creativity and personal growth, plus occasional behind-the-scenes glimpses into my audio storytelling journey.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: Midnight Memory by Chelsea McGough; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: A Day of Greening

Resources:

Mary Oliver reading of Wild Geese (On Being Podcast)

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (contains poem: When I am Among the Trees)

Related Episodes:

Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode 64

Journal Prompts:

1. Take your journal to your favorite park, beach, pasture or creek and write about beautiful, little things that you notice with your five senses.

2. Write a one-page story about the life of a beautiful object, animal or nature scene.

3. Answer this question: What beautiful, little thing do you keep around for comfort? Why?

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode helped you notice little, beautiful things in the natural world. 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

This episode continues my 10-part series What My Mama Taught Me, reflecting on the wisdom, values, and way of being my mother embodied. Telling her stories and sharing her kindness and unique perspective help me honor her memory as I continue to grieve. It also encourages us to lean into loving, kind values during these troubling times.

In Lesson #2 — Recognize the Good in Others, I discuss how quickly we categorize people based on outward appearance, and how much we miss when we do. Through poetry, personal storytelling, and memories of my mother’s open-hearted approach to life, this episode invites us to move beyond labels and into real human connection.

As a biracial woman, I reflect on the experience of being misread and classified, and why first impressions rarely tell us anything meaningful about who someone truly is. My mother met people with curiosity, kindness, and respect, recognizing the good in others without assumptions.

Let's explore how compassion, nonjudgment, identity, and acceptance can deepen relationships with others and ourselves.

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

If you like the podcast, visit my website: lettheverseflow.com for more inspirational insights and resources, and sign up for Flow & Voice, a free monthly note with short, practical reflections on creativity and personal growth, plus occasional behind-the-scenes glimpses into my audio storytelling journey.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: Cream Soda by BRASKO; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: We Made It Out

Related Episodes:

Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode 64

Journal Prompts:

1. How are you recognizing the good in others? What does that look like for you?

2. Do you judge other people as an extension of self-judgment? Explore that dichotomy.

3. Write about a friendship of acceptance. Who do you accept unconditionally, and how does that enrich your life?

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode helped you recognize the good in others. 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

This episode begins a 10-part series, What My Mama Taught Me: 10 Life Lessons on Compassion, Creativity, and Courage, inspired by the wisdom, love, and example of my mother. Today's lesson (#1): Let people know you love them.

Over the next 10 episodes, I’ll discuss one piece of wisdom she taught me, weaving together personal stories, reflections on grief, caregiving, creativity, and compassion, along with thoughts on how these lessons can help us live more meaningful, connected lives.

Today’s episode explores the practice of saying “I love you”—a simple act that can feel complicated, especially in the context of loss, caregiving, and end-of-life transitions. I hope it offers comfort to listeners navigating grief, caregiving for aging parents, mother–daughter relationships, or the emotional complexity of loving deeply.

As I reflect on my mother’s passing after years of caring for her through Alzheimer’s, I share how expressing love openly became a source of comfort, healing, and open-heartedness—for both of us.

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

If you like the podcast, visit my website: lettheverseflow.com for more inspirational insights and resources, and sign up for Flow & Voice, a free monthly note with short, practical reflections on creativity and personal growth, plus occasional behind-the-scenes glimpses into my audio storytelling journey.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: La Fin Du Blonde by Tony Sopiano; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: "I Love You" Was Said

Resources:

When caregiving feels like prayer (NPR interview with writer Jason Reynolds): https://tinyurl.com/54p6repx

Journal Prompts:

1. Write a love letter to a friend, parent, family member, or partner that conveys why you love them so much. What qualities are most lovable about them?

2. Write about a difficult relationship and ask yourself if there is any way to release anger or bad feelings by leaning into compassion for them? How does that make you feel?

3. What lovable qualities are present in your relationships, and which ones are you still seeking?

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode helped you express love for someone else. 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.

What does it mean to be true to yourself? It’s often a question that we ponder at pivotal points in our lives, especially during midlife. In this episode, I explore what it means to be yourself creatively, authentically, and with greater self-awareness.

For inspiration, there’s poetry and a discussion of the role of mindfulness in living authentically. I also discuss an inspirational quote by Allen Ginsberg. It’s his iconic advice to writers (but it applies to all creative beings – which is all of us in one way or another). “Follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness.”

This episode is an invitation to reconnect with your creative voice, listen to your inner wisdom and make time and space for the parts of yourself that you value most and want to be seen. Check out the journal prompts to help you reflect on Ginsberg’s quote in more depth and reconnect with your creative voice and what it’s trying to tell you about how to live.

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

If you like the podcast, visit my website: lettheverseflow.com for more inspirational insights and resources, and sign up for Flow & Voice, a free monthly note with short, practical reflections on creativity and personal growth, plus occasional behind-the-scenes glimpses into my audio storytelling journey.

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this episode: Glide by JMPSCR; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Poem: Well, who am I?

Quote: “Follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness.” (Allen Ginsberg)

Related Episodes:

Creative Flow: Self-Care That Matters (Episode #21)

Affirmation Meditation: Cultivate Creative Flow (Episode #22)

Journal Prompts:

1. What creative activities speak to you, open you up, and help you release and follow your “inner moonlight?”

2. Have you been hiding your creativity? How and why?

3. How does your creativity help define who you are?

Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode helped you tap into opportunities for living more creatively (and authentically). 💜💛

Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com