Leave the World Better Than You Found It (Part 10)🎧Episode 73

🎧 Episode #73 Leave the World Better Than You Found It (Part 10)

It has been a wonderful journey for me to share the top 10 life lessons my mom taught me. As part of her legacy of creativity and love, when she passed, I needed others to benefit from her wisdom, beautiful outlook on life and deep love for humanity. We need more of that in the world, and I will do my best to carry on her beautiful work and her impact.

For today’s episode, I share a common theme of the podcast. I’ve talked about this topic from different vantage points, but it’s simply to leave the world better than you found it. To lead with love, with compassion, and to share your creative projects and inspired heart with a sometimes weary world.

In a world that feels increasingly divided, we must remember that small acts of compassion have a powerful ripple effect. They do matter. From holding a door open to truly seeing another person, this episode explores what becomes possible when we lead with discovery, acceptance, and care instead of fear and division.

I hope you feel nourished and inspired by my mom’s 10^th lesson: to leave the world a better place than you found it. To begin today, think about your personal impact on the world. It starts with each one of us doing our part to bolster and support compassion and love in all its forms.

💭Key Takeaways from this Episode:

• The way we treat others becomes part of the legacy we leave behind. And who knows how our compassion, love, and empathy will influence even the small sphere of influence we may have.
• Making the world better does not require grand achievements. We can think small, in moments of everyday compassion, because they matter deeply.
• Our gestures of kindness carry their message in unknown ways. We can leave a lasting emotional impact and inspire others to pass that care forward.
• Leading with curiosity and discovery helps break down prejudice and deepen human connection. Creativity can be a conduit to discovery and a way to share with others through an unspoken but universal language.
• Acceptance begins by seeing all people as fully human, leaving judgment about differences aside. We are so much more than the convenient labels society would like us to carry. We can break out of them, knowing that when we accept the complexity of others, we are mirroring that evaluation for ourselves as well.

Soft Feathers

By Jill Hodge

What if we were holding hands instead of shaking them in the air
What if we lead with awe and wonder to temper despair
What if we opened our eyes and saw the depth of our beauty
Instead of the call to battle, the next tour of duty

We could settle into an earthly delight
We could hold space for each other, let fly a technicolor kite
Down to the ground we would swirl and swoop
Frolicking under a sky of azul

What if we let the little things in
What if they weren’t so little after all
What if instead that added up
And bound us in soft feathers, to cushion the fall

We would free our mind from fret and fervor
As we sat beside a golden stream flanked by a field of flowers
To count the blossoms one by one
Smell the sweet air and bask in the warm sun

What would we do with our time if we weren’t hating
How clear would our minds be without coveting
How many smiles would wind their way out
If we sought to discover, lay down our sword and gave up on doubt

We would know that we had enough
We would see beyond ourselves, be free
And then doesn’t that mean that it starts with you?
Begins with me?

For we are the makers of this world,
We are the seekers of the flame on the mountain up high
We are the ones who know in our heart of hearts
That the blue flower and the white flower are kin
That the difference belies the inner
That the red serpent and the green can hold equal measures of sin

And if that’s true, if that’s how it feels to be free
Then doesn’t that mean that it starts with you?
Begins with me?

Journal Prompts to Explore How You Make the World Better

Here are some journal prompts to help motivate and support your striving for kindness and compassion as you do your part to make the world a better place. Write or reflect on the following:

My mom’s final lesson was taught through example. As she gazed at a new person, she did so with a lens of discovery and acceptance first. She wasn’t wearing rose-colored glasses. She would soon learn whether she wanted to bring someone closer to her as a friend, but she led with openness and kindness and was able to transcend much of the bigotry and racism in our society. That openness and loving spirit were her greatest gifts, and the way she left the world a better place. I hope to follow in her footsteps. 🌞

Podcast Music: My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and have the courage to put it out into the world. All music and sound effects for my podcast are sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

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

Related Episodes:

You Are Not an Island: The Power of Letting Others Care for You (Part 9) - Episode 72

Start Before You’re Ready: Creative Courage and the Power of Experimentation (Part 8) - Episode 71

The Healing Power of Touch - Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 7) - Episode 70

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

Art Appreciation for a Weary World - Episode 50

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

Then, connect with me on Instagram. Let me know you hear me out there!

Journaling Resources

30-Day Journal Challenge (Writing Prompts to Get Started)

Here’s a fun & simple 30-day journal challenge for beginners (or those who need inspiration). Use the daily prompts to rediscover yourself.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Journaling 101: An Inspirational Guide to Start (or Revive) a Practice

Whether you write, doodle, draw, or keep memorable quotes, journaling uncovers YOU. Let your unconscious mind speak, download my free guide.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

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