Ep 6 // Dr. Darren Ruddell PhD, Associate Professor of Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California (and geographer extraordinaire on my epidemiology dissertation committee), and I engage in a thought-provoking exercise to compare and contrast answers to questions from ourselves in the past vs. present. What does it mean to be happy? What do you love about yourself? What do you love about your life? How would you rate your level of self-awareness? What values do you anchor your life around? What has been the most transformative event in your life so far? For me, I describe the experience with my mom’s stroke in 2018 and the impactful life lessons that I have and continue to learn. Reflecting on our past and present also enables us to evaluate our progress in letting go. What is letting go? According to Yung Pueblo, it is “to stop carrying the energy of the past into the present.” It is releasing the heaviness, weight, tension, and hurt associated with a person and/or event so that it no longer holds power over our lives. Letting go can require many steps and iterations of acknowledging, leaning in, processing, and healing. Why should we let go? To create space for the inevitable changes in life – highs and lows – to let life carry us to a new place, to learn and grow from our experiences, and to make more informed, wise, and healthy decisions in the future. Darren and I also discuss projecting your inner world onto others, reframing your thoughts and perspective, his time in the Peace Corps in West Africa, a deep love for California, and current playlist mainstays (including the transcendent SZA). I dedicate this episode to my best friend, Dr. Jennifer Tsai @drjenandjuice, a wonderful human being who has my best interests at heart, who encourages me to let go, and from whom I learn to live a more fulfilled life.