Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Why We're Starving for Community and Why the Village We're Missing Is the Cure with Laura Ambrosio, founder of Aspen & Elder

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Why We're Starving for Community and Why the Village We're Missing Is the Cure with Laura Ambrosio, founder of Aspen & Elder · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story podcast.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: I am just kind of, as usual, in my guest episodes, buzzing with excitement and anticipation to have this conversation with our guests today.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I love this conversation for many reasons.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: And a big reason being the woman who's going to be engaging in this conversation with us today.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: I met Laura, like I meet most people, in such a divine way.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know that Laura's actually heard the timing on kind of like when we connected.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll be fun for her to listen while I share now.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: I remember when I received an email from Laura describing her vision for what she's going to be creating and what we're going to be speaking about here today.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: And just as I was kind of reading this email, I was also kind of working through my own stuff with my business, Winds of Change, and going through a business program.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: And we had talked a lot about like our our bigger vision for the world, if you will.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And after I had put that vision out into the world in this program that I was in, sharing it with this group of women who were on the call, literally, like two days later, I received this email from Laura.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not kidding.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: That was like almost the exact same vision with the exact same resonance.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, wow, the universe is so interesting.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it just felt like a really divine and synchronistic connection.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so I responded to her email.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And since then we've been connecting and collaborating, and her sweet little one just went to our performing arts summer camp that I've been managing.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just been such such a budding connection.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: And the more I get to know Laura, the more I love her.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm excited to get to know her more today.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And really excited to share Laura and her work with you today as well.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Laura, and I'm so sorry, I should have gotten the pronunciation on your last name.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: I want to say Ambrosio.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Laura Ambrosio holds a degree in social work, but she's always been more of a bridge builder than a case file kind of helper.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: She's a mom of two wild-hearted kids, a caregiver, and the founder of Aspen and Elder, a fellowship built to bring people back into community through every season of life.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Years spent caring for older adults showed her what research keeps confirming.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Generations are healthier when their lives are woven together rather than kept apart.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: Two years traveling solo around the world deepened that further that knowing further, showing her how other cultures build support into daily life in ways we've largely let go here in our Western world.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: After becoming a mother and finding herself deeply and unexpectedly alone, Laura realized what she needed wasn't just support, it was a village.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: So she started building one.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Aspen and Elder is that village, a holistic space led by women at every level, from the workshops to the board, for mothers for women, and for anyone in the LGTPQIA plus community craving healing and belonging.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Come as you are, perfection is actively discouraged.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's right.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show, Laura.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for joining us today.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and I love that little backstory that I didn't know.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's beautiful, and the universe is just such a crazy thing.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Just the more that I like seep into it, the more I'm amazed by it.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I agree.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's quite magical once you really start opening yourself up to it.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm sure we'll get some more synchronicities throughout this conversation today, too.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, almost guaranteed.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's inevitable.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Laura, our first question that we always start with on the show is to tell us about your story.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd love to hear a little bit more about your story and kind of what brought you to the work that you're doing now with Aspen and Elder.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd say my story, it does start um from a young age.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the main thing that really shaped me as a human being, for better or for worse, was growing up in a very religious uh household.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So Christianity was just first and foremost the foundation for my whole life, all the way up through to college.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I never really felt first that I fit in.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I never really felt understood.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I see and feel the world and experience things in a way that just I was never saw that mirrored or reflected back to me from anyone within my church community.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And anytime I saw somebody that was like a sprinkle of what I felt on the inside or like what I wanted for life, it was from somebody who was very adamantly like a no-go.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like we that's not who you are.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: This behave that behavior is not allowed.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, modest is hottest.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, being loud and uh, you know, expressing myself in my entirety was never really something that I felt that I was allowed or able to do.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: My parents, super loving, wonderful human beings, but I I think that I was just kind of a I really threw them for a loop.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I have an older brother and sister, and for the longest time, they just went down the path that he was asked and shown and given to them.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was not that person.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I have never been that person.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um I like to ask the question, why?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to have reasons why beyond the Bible says so, beyond because we tell you so.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that was really hard because I don't think they really had deeper reasonings for some of the things that they were giving me.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know, rules and regulations and whatnot.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that was that was very, very challenging for me.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't feel like I could talk to anybody.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: I had an experience where I was molested by somebody close to me, and that really just heightened that feeling of I can't talk to anyone.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have anyone.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: No one's going to understand this.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of shame, there's a lot of guilt, there's a lot of confusion.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: At the time I was in elementary school and I just didn't have a framework and I didn't understand how, how do I go to, who do I talk to, who can I share this, like what I've got going on in my heart that I don't know how to navigate.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think just most of my life because I didn't feel like I had a community that resonated with me, it was a constant searching process of who am I?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who do I want to be?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, like the core foundation, I think, of what I got to was community and connection.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like I want a community, I want connection.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I can see this in other people's lives.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's a reality, but I just struggled to find it for myself.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I really didn't find it until after I went traveling for a couple of years.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if I give anyone advice in life, and they don't know, like if they're younger, if they're in college, if they're in high school, and they don't know what path that they want to go on, I highly recommend traveling to anyone and just figuring out who are you outside of the world around you and what everyone is telling you.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: When you grow up in a particular area with the people in your family, and they all have these like expectations and like ideas of this person that you are or who you should be or how you should behave and show up in this world, but that doesn't necessarily align with your spirit.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I was very keenly aware of that by the time I finished college.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just I sold everything.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I did a very like eat pray love moment of I'm getting out of here.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go find myself and just experience the world.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so I booked my trip to Ireland.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: I had been in contact with this family.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: They had a bakery and a cafe, and basically it was a room and board situation.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I worked in their bakery and their cafe, and then they let me stay at their home.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: But when I got there, I had arrived in Ireland, and you know, my phone had died.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, I had no way of contacting these people.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have my phone, obviously, didn't work either.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't make calls.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: It was just like a whole nightmare.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they didn't show up.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was waiting for them, and I was like, what have I done?
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was just crying because I knew I had made like I was like, Oh, I I screwed up, I'm just like stranded.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is it still doing its no no no, you're good?
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: I was just listening to your story.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and there it goes.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I so I had finally, I don't even remember how I got to call them.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think I had charged my phone and finally they reached out and they realized, oh, they thought it was one day, but it was another day.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: So they came and got me.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: But there were multiple moments on my travels that I just thought to myself, what have I done?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: What am I doing?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm crazy.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I've bit off more than I can chew.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly think that was kind of foundational for me to develop a sense of trust in myself and facing the unknown and paving my own way and just choosing to show up regardless of the known outcome and being flexible, but also on those travels, seeing what community could look like.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: I worked at a farm in Holland and it was a wellness type farm.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So they had people who had developmental disabilities who would come work on the farm, and that was really my first dipping my toes into kind of an atmosphere where work and wellness and community and connection began to like meld together in a way that really resonated with my soul.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I took that with me moving forward of this is what I want to do, and this is kind of what I want to create.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's possible, it's a big dream, but it's possible.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And my husband is Brazilian.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: I went to go visit his family before we got married, and I also saw that community and connection and fell in love with that.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was it's such a beautiful thing when it's not America does not do this.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: You do not just come over to someone's house uninvited and ring their doorbell and go and just spend the rest of the evening with them.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: In Brazil, that's like common.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: You just you basically set aside some cake just in case somebody chooses to come over.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it was it was just refreshing and beautiful.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I all over the world I see this type of lifestyle where community is just it's not something forced on you, it's just part of how they live their reality and how beneficial it is for everybody.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really unfortunate that we have come to the day and age within like Western culture primarily, where we have this bootstraps, independent mom boss mentality that truly is doing women like a disservice.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because not everyone wants to be a mom boss.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And as you know, we have cycles, we have flows that we go through that we need to honor.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we are not meant to like primarily go through this masculinity, masculine energy of doing, doing, doing all the time.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: And when I came back from my travels, I saw I kind of put on that masculine hat of trying to force and do and like make those things happen.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, people are trying to sell you things right and left.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you just need this little thing for the algorithm so that everyone can see you, or you need to, I don't know.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many things that people are trying to sell us all the time, but they're not taking into consideration like this holistic human that is before them.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: What are our strengths?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: What are our weaknesses?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Who is this community that we're like building?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And how can we work together as this like web of individuals with our individual strengths and weaknesses to bring beauty and community and connection into the world?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what's missing is it's so focused on what you can achieve, what can you do, what can you bring into the world where in reality, like we have to have people come alongside of us.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's no one person, if you have a big dream, like there's no way one person is going to be able to do everything.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: You'll just burn out, you will get like physically sick, something will happen as a result of overextending yourself.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I've learned over the past, you know, probably 10 years after becoming a mom, having my kids, that I had to prioritize and reorganize my life to be in alignment with who do I want to be?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: How do I want to be remembered by my children?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do I want to be a stressed-out mom or do I want to be the mom that's out in the pool playing with them?
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to be the mom that's can like connected to them.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: And what is a life that I want to build?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if I look at Crone Laura and I see myself in the future, how would she be acting?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: How would she be showing up and really working to just step into that and embody that version of myself that I desire to become?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So super long-winded.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: But that's my story.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, wow.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for sharing.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm having some tears kind of well up behind my eyes.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Just yeah, really touched by your rich share here.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's so much we can learn from each other's stories.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I first want to thank you for sharing what you've shared about that experience in childhood and just really holding your little ones so tenderly.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: And we've talked about religious culture on the show before, and um yeah, it's quite problematic, I think, for women, especially.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: And what I think you is important to name here is like the sense of community that you were connected to, and this felt sense of that community not being the right community for you, not being able to see yourself reflected in anyone around you.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that's a really important piece to sort of weave in here too, making sure that we're building community with the right people.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: Not to say that some people are wrong or not worthy and deserving of community, but I think the importance of shared values and shared hearts and shared minds, it really does matter, and that's what sort of kind of adds to that sense of belonging.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: And then also to name what we're experiencing here in our Western culture, and to name the contrast that you see when you go to these other parts of the world where community is very much steeped into the culture and how people live.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you're right when you say that this is kind of what's missing.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's interesting we live in one of the most time the times where we can have the potential to be the most connected with social media and the internet, and yet more people than ever are reporting loneliness, and it's also really interesting to hear statistics about friendships as well.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're reading uh fighting for female friendships right now, and how how many of us really do feel quite alone.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, well, I think when I reflect on that situation of you know, finding your right people and but also having the importance of having people outside of your inner circle because I find you know, when we have our inner circle, everyone has a similar values set, but it's very important for us to look at the world through multiple lenses and perspectives.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And like part of why I'm creating Aspen and Elder is wanting to bring you know people from different cultures and different backgrounds of different ages together because that is giving you a holistic perspective of this world that you know I cannot drop myself into your reality.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: But if I am able to bring you into my reality a little bit more and like have these conversations, you can share your experiences, you can share what you're going through, what your struggles are.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it just allows me to have empathy and understanding and awareness of what that looks like.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just super important for humanity to start looking at people not as a political person, not as like, oh, you know, your religion's bad, my religion is right, but just who is this individual?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about your upbringing, tell me about your values, tell me what has shaped you as a human being.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that that is the core of that individual, and seeing that humanizing people again rather than this polarizing world that we have somehow created.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I just there's so much beauty in everything around us, all of the different cultures, the different experiences, the different backgrounds and upbringings.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if we can like pull all of this knowledge and information together to just create a space of like safety and wanting to lift one another up, like the world would be a totally different place.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, one 100%.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I appreciate you bringing that into the conversation as well, because I I do agree with you.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think we do get really kind of in our own little circles, and even like it reminds me of like on you know on Instagram, the the algorithm, right?
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it can be like so um your life can be sort of like niche down in the sense that like all the only thing that you're seeing is people who have the same beliefs as you, who have had the similar life experiences as you, and there's so much that we can learn from each other's life experiences.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I really love what you said about being able to humanize people and to understand the human and the story behind the people that you interact with and being able to see that and honor that, and you know, maybe in some way like love that if you're able to, just because we're all human and we're all so connected and we are hardwired for connection.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: We really do need other humans to survive and thrive.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this is also perfectly timed with cancer season two.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I get really curious about experiences that you may have had in communities.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know you share that you experience communities in other parts of the world, but I also get curious about what you've experienced here, um, you know, in in our community.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Have there been spaces where you've felt that sense of what you were looking for?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: And have there been places that maybe you didn't feel that?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's interesting as I look back and I never truly realized how important community was.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I like it was there in the back of my mind, like I had this awareness, community is important because I did see that reflected in church life, and I saw when people fit in and what that looked like.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: And there were aspects of it, you know, the church showing up for people.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: So there was that like beauty in that piece of my upbringing.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I did long, I longed for it to have a group of people that could see me for me in my entirety and and want to go through life together and like through the highs and lows, and be willing to have like the difficult conversations if somebody hurts someone else's feelings unintentionally or intentionally, and just be the willingness to navigate that together as we grow as individuals.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember sitting after having my daughter Luna, who's now seven, and really just being like, universe, I really want a friends.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: I really want amazing friends who have reciprocity.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was I felt like I was constantly pouring into relationships and friendships, but it was never mirrored back to me in wanting to show up for each other.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there was this reel that I saw recently about how the village and community part of that is being inconvenienced.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, but having the willingness still and the desire still to show up for those people in your life.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that really resonated with me because I try to show up as much as possible.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I try to show up for people even when you know it inconveniences me.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I found it very hard and disheartening when you know I would pour into relationships and friendships, and it just that reciprocity wasn't there.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I sat with the universe and I just said, I I want relationships built on reciprocity, and then also like seeking that out, finding ways to reach out to people that, you know, I'm like, oh, I I kind of like their vibe and I've never talked to them before, but I've seen them on Instagram.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's what I did.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just started reaching out to people that I thought were interesting and I felt, you know, some sort of like connection with, even though I had never spoken to them before and following that.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I got connected with a group of moms, and that group imploded as a result of you know some miscommunication and hurt feelings, and then all of us kind of we scattered, and we then had to figure out like, wow, that was crazy.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: And how why what happened?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why couldn't there, why wasn't there able to be repair?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then after sitting with that, of okay, you know, this happened, I cannot heal everyone's relationships and friendships as much as I wish that I could.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's not within my control to make that a reality.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: But as a result of that, I was able to kind of peel back that curtain for myself of looking at the friendships and kind of analyzing, like, oh, you know, maybe our our values weren't really as aligned as I thought that they were, or maybe it just sometimes a relationship or friendship comes into your life, it teaches you something, and unfortunately it goes and it passes on.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just the cycle that was necessary at that point in time.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm very grateful that now I do have like a core group of friends that I see on a regular basis.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And without them, I do not think I would be embarking on this journey that I'm on of opening Aspen and Elder.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Truly, like they are like they encourage me.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones who tell me, like, you can do it.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: How can I support you?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: And these are all moms who have children who are my age, you know, young children.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's challenging, like this.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's challenging to show up for one another.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: But with that foundation of support and feeling scene and being able to have conversations about like deep and meaningful things, uh, that truly has empowered me to go after the things that I want in life.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: And just it's been a very beautiful thing, and I want it for everybody.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm really happy that you found that.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I know we've had some conversations about um yeah, uh about similar experiences.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: I've had several experiences like that myself where yeah, I feel like you're really pouring in and showing up for a relationship and not really receiving that in return.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's not uncommon in this day and age.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: I hear it more and more, like the more I talk to other women about this desire for true, reciprocal, authentic, deep, meaningful relationships.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: You are not the first woman who I've heard this from.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: And um, again, you know, I've gone through this myself.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, what do you where do you think that comes from?
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Are we just too busy?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: Do we just not care?
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: Are we just unaware?
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on that?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think it comes down to a couple of things.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, shame is one of them.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I remember having a conversation with one of my close friends, and they mentioned how they were struggling, and it was all a group of us women, we were talking together, and you know, she was like, Oh, well, I don't want to like have to ask for help because you guys are busy too.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: And my response to her was, I'm I want to show up for you, please open that door to let me show up for you.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And there is this like guilt and shame, I think, that is associated with not being able to balance it all or having a hard time.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when you open yourself up to other individuals, depending on whatever your past experience might be, and having some hurts and feeling, you know, maybe like a failure, or that you're not enough.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: It comes back to like that worthiness of am I do you feel the sense of worthiness to show up and say, I need this, I want this, this is what I want for my life.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: These are the friendships that I want for my life.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I think having the that worthiness for yourself to say, this is what I want, and this is what I desire, and this is what I need and ask for it, super important.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think we're busy.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think I do think we're busy with a lot of things that don't matter.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: But and we fill our time with also things that don't matter, like scrolling on Instagram.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's something that as I'm embarking on this journey of opening the business, I really had to kind of face myself and say, Laura, you are spending way too much time on this, these apps.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're not there, this is not what your world, what your life, what you desire is built upon.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: And um, if it's trying to regulate my nervous system after like a challenging day, like there's got to be better ways, more healthy ways, like reading, yeah, you know, playing outside.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I not doing these things?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because I get sucked into this app that's then relaying back to me all of the things that you know perceived wrong or not good enough, or you know, that comparison game, and then you still get sucked into it, you get sucked into it, and then you're you're just wasting time that you could be putting towards building authentic relationships with people.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so I think you know, where attention goes, energy flows.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if I want my attention on Instagram, or like obviously it's a tool, it can have wonderful uses, but when the tool becomes a thing that's using you rather than you using the tool, then we got a problem.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: I really agree with you too about friendship and community, there being some level of inconvenience because I think we live in a day and age where we are really um given the opportunity to be convenienced most of the time with Amazon and with how things are so quickly uh on our doorstep with the click of a button.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think over time that's maybe sort of like made our culture um just not open to being inconvenient.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I hear plenty of times from people who who complain about not having friends, but they also don't want to be inconvenient.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's really interesting.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I also agree with you when you say that you know we we fill our time with things that that don't matter, and I offer so much grace to all of us because I find myself in those same sort of cycles as well.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: I just started posting on social media again, and I I can already feel like how slippery that slope is.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, damn.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, yeah, it's it's tough, but that's what I always tell myself is when I'm on the you know, if I find myself I'm scrolling, I do have an app that monitors my time too, so it really helps.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I will tell myself, I'm like, this isn't what you want to be doing with your time.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, yeah, yeah, you're right.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but also I really want to do nothing right now.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: So and it's funny, it like it reminds me of this um term that Brene Brown coined in a podcast episode that came out quite a while ago.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but she coined this term artificial intimacy.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sometimes, like when we're on Instagram and you know, we're watching people's stories and we're seeing their pictures that they're posting of their life, like we think we we know them, we think that's actually a connection when really it's it's not because it's happening on this device, it's not happening in real life, and everything we share on social media is for the most part curated, and we're sharing our our highlight reels and the pictures that we look good in, at least I know I am.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I try to sprinkle the other stuff in there too, but but you know, that's primarily like what the culture of social media, if you will.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sometimes people think that you know we we know someone just because we've we follow them on Instagram and we watch their stories, and you know, there was even friendships where like they wouldn't call or like text or reach out and ask how you're doing or how I was doing, but then they'd like watch my Instagram story.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember being out in a at a party one time, and someone who followed me on Instagram just like, oh, I feel like I know everything about you.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: I follow your stories all the time.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh my god, you don't know me.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you only know 1% about Instagram story, like you don't know me.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think sometimes people think that maybe they don't have to do that extra work of you know asking the questions and showing up and and being reciprocal in that way because you know, we follow on social media and you can just kind of see what they're up to in that way.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think you know, when you engage in a connected friendship or relationship, you are required in some ways to do a lot of inner work of figuring out like, how can I show up for other people?
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: How do I want people to show up for me?
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: And or oh wow, this person said something that kind of triggered me.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: Why is that?
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I think you know, social media is built on this dopamine cycle, and as much as it can possibly, you know, infuse itself into our system, it's doing what it's designed to do.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when we step outside of that, it's uncomfortable to put yourself in a situation where you feel vulnerable and it's not, you know, you're not just pressing a like button, you're not just saying, oh wow, so amazing.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: But having yeah, exactly, but having those challenging conversations and being willing to, you know, ask yourself, okay, if I don't have this core group of people that I want in my life that I'm longing for, rather than blaming on on the exterior world of, oh, well, the right people just haven't come to me yet.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think it needs to come back to ourselves of how am I showing up?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Am I being the friend that I desire for myself?
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: And when I asked that question for myself, my answer was no.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh, wow, you know, I'm wanting people to like reach out to me.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: When do I ever call somebody on the phone just to talk?
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: Never, never.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: And once I started doing that more, just how do I want somebody to show up for me?
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then embodying that, the relationships started coming, the friendships started coming.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then it became became a self-fulfilling prophecy of I'm showing up, and now I can kind of filter like, wow, like I've got these great people in my life.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: But then if somebody comes in and something about you know, a situation is not feel aligned, like how someone's talking to me, how someone's treating me.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think it's important to voice those desires and not just immediately cut people off.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: But after being able to sit with that, and if I've tuned in and said, have I asked?
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: Have I communicated, which I'm not like the best communicator, that's something that I have to work on in this life.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Have I communicated my needs, wants, and desires?
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: Have I communicated like what kind of friendship I long for?
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if I haven't, then that's not the person's fault that they're not able to show up for me in that way.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, it's just it's an opportunity when you have these in-person interactions to hold that mirror up for yourself and say, am I showing up in a way that I want others to show up for me?
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: And what would that look like?
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, can sit down, journal about it.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: What would that look like?
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: What is meaningful to me?
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: Are phone calls meaningful to me?
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: Does my cup feel full when I've been on the phone with somebody for five or 10 minutes, just asking about their day?
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Does it look like dropping off a care package for somebody just because you know that they've had a tough day?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: What does that look like?
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: And begin embodying that.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: It really starts with ourselves, doesn't it?
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: Everything, I swear.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: All that inner work, man, it's not fun.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's not, but it's so good.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, that's kind of that inconvenience piece coming in, right?
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because being in a relationship is quite complicated.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's only a matter of time until there's gonna be conflict.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: Conflict is a really healthy, natural part of relationships, and when we navigate that conflict in a meaningful way, it can actually bring everyone in the situation closer together.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: But again, that's uncomfortable, it doesn't feel good, and because most of us don't want to be uncomfortable and we want to feel good for right reasons, our beautiful wise system doing what they can to keep us safe and protected, but we miss that opportunity to relate and to be in a relationship with with the other.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: I as you're talking, I'm thinking about my relationship with my husband.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: We have been married nine years now, and on our anniversary, I was having a dark night of the soul.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: I've been having a dark night of the soul for a while, and I was like, I want a divorce.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: And we, it was like two days of crying and of conversations for things that we had needed to talk about for so long.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we're still we are now the happiest we have ever been in our probably in our entire marriage, but it had to come to that place of like we're laying it all out on the table, we're saying all the things that we should have been saying all along and navigating that and figuring out like what does life look like now?
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: How can we like support one another?
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm not supporting you in a way that you're receiving, and you're not supporting me in a way that I'm receiving, then we just don't feel supported by each other.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we, you know, it just becomes like this toxic environment that neither of us are happy or fulfilled.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: We don't feel loved, we don't feel supported.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: And those conversations, the uncomfortable, painful conversations had to happen in order for us to kind of pave a new path to get to like where we are now.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm lucky and grateful that that was how my story played out.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that's not how many relationships do play out.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know that's not like the solution for everybody because there are really unhealthy relationships out there that do need to be severed.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: But just point being, having the difficult conversations that lead to the tears that lead to like just feeling raw and open and needing to say, this is like this, it's not working.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: So how can we make it work?
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: How what and if it's not working for either of us, you know, do are we on the same path?
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: If we're not on the same path, like just it's life is like a constant reassessment of okay, who am I?
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_00: Who who am I desiring to be?
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: How far apart are those two people from one another?
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: And am I on this general path of the north star?
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is your north star?
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: How is that guiding you?
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't have something guiding you, then life is gonna feel real crazy.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna feel real lost.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but if you've got something that you can anchor yourself to of for me, community and connection, I want to help people build community connection.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: I want community and connection, I want community and connection for my children, and that's just kind of become my anchor point and by which I can swivel my head and always return back to that place and let it guide me.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, that's really beautiful, and I think a lovely segue into kind of talking a little bit more about Aspen and Elder.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I get really curious about like what does community mean to you?
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: We've sort of like weaved in a couple things here, but let's say if there were like five words that described community, what would those words be?
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh culture, intergenerational, tech free.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, less tech.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Culture, intergenerational, less tech, um authenticity and quality time.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love those.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, quality time.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: Think is a really important one for me too.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that also comes back to like that less tech, you know, having that quality time where you are truly connected with another individual.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's no, like, I don't remember what I was listening to, but they were just talking about how the act of having your phone on the table when you're with somebody, how that already creates like this barrier for that conversation where it feels like there's like this third party present, and you're not able to communicate or connect as deeply as you would as if your phone is put away.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I totally agree with that 100%.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's these little things, right?
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_01: I had never thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense to me.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I also get really curious about Aspen and Elders specifically.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you're building this place with the intention of welcoming in mothers and women and members of the LBGTQI plus community.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I I wonder like, what is this space that that you're creating?
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: Could you tell us more?
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know you just went and looked at a property the other day.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's been crazy in the best way possible.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like the more that I show up and trust myself and just do the things, the more trust I'm building in in what I'm capable of.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't, I don't know if anyone in who's listening has tapped into human design.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: But my human design is manifestor, and I'm really having to honor the cycle of manifestor energy.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a world that is truly creative for generators, just like being able to consistently have like a steady stream of energy.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_00: But with manifesting, you have kind of this surge of energy, and then you kind of become a hermit for a little while while you recuperate.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that is like the story of my life that I've had, I'm having to learn to honor that.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: But that being said, the space of Aspen and Elder has been a building for many years now.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: And previously I have tried, you know, different iterations of what that would look like, and it never ended up panning out for either or any of them, for that matter.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I reflect on, like, okay, well, why didn't that work?
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: And why didn't this work?
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the overall vision has always been kind of this community and connection, creating this third space, but it never felt like there was never that moment where I was like, this is possible.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that what that didn't happen until this time, where just all the stars, all like I look at life as a tapestry.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did fiber art for a good few years and building tapestries for businesses and homes.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's kind of how I envision the world.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, as we're weaving our tapestry, there's all these different threads and pieces that have kind of culminated to get to this beautiful image that like we're weaving before ourselves.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been learning along the way for things that, oh, that didn't work, was I wasn't being true to having this duality of like feminine and masculine energy.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was too far into the masculine.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Or I wasn't leaning into my manifestor energy, and I was only honoring once again, kind of that masculine go, go, go, and getting to a point now where I'm honoring that piece of myself, but also not trying to do it all on my own.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm the driving force behind everything, but I'm I'm reaching out to my community and I have built this like beautiful community around me that I can say, Hey, do you know someone who is, you know, really great at this or loves doing this?
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_00: Or I put up on social media one of the beautiful things of social media.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I'm looking for somebody to help me do grant writing.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this wonderful woman reached out, said, You should check out this lady, reached out to her, and now she's helping me write grants, she's helping me get excited elders set up as a nonprofit.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just I want to say all of that to say if you're working on something and it hasn't worked out in the past, or you're feeling some resistance to sit with yourself and ask if you're really in your sweet spot, or if you're trying to show up in a way that society has told you you need to show up.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: Are you putting pressure on yourself to like, oh, I have to write a book because that's like the next thing that people do, or like whatever that is, that doesn't mean it has to be your path and to like honor who you are as an individual and how you show up in this world and and how you like your strengths and your weaknesses.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: But ask been an elder, I've been looking at a building, and it's gonna be a whole process for sure.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's it was a church back in 2020.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna need some love, but also I kind of love that it's gonna need some love because if I'm building a community space, let's bring in the community to give some love.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's have a painting day, let's have a cleaning day.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: I want to go walk around to like the local neighbors and say, This is what I'm building.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to have you involved.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have an idea for um like a granny cooking night, so bringing in local grandmas to cook a meal from their culture that's a part of like their heritage that they can share with the community.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just want to bring people together and I want to like show everyone like how amazing everyone is, and like things just aren't culture in America isn't very strong, like we've kind of been stripped, like as a white individual, you know, my culture when I come to America, in America, it's not really a culture, but if I look far enough back, you know, there's I'm from Norway and like Scandinavia and like the Celtic.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: So like I have this ancestry, but it was kind of stripped away from me when I came here and it became steeped in like patriarchal Christianity values that have you know blanketed covered the United States, yeah.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: But bringing culture and like showing people like the beauty of different cultures and and intergenerational stuff, like I was saying.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: I with social work as my background, it just really showed me how important it is for the elderly to be connected in community.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and on my travels, and I I know that there are people all around who see this happening, like within Mexican cultures, I think it's so much more prominent for you to have this close-knit intergenerational community.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: And but within the United States, it's like, oh, we're just gonna put them in a home and they're gonna like live out the rest of their days, and someone else will take care of them.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: But like, there's so much beauty and wisdom and like connection to be had, especially from like elderly to like children, just the connections that can be made there.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: So the space is just I'm wanting it to be like a hub of having open art hours where the kids can come and create.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: So having all the art supplies for them to just like be free to paint, to work with clay, to just whatever their heart's desire, really spark that imagination and creativity, and doing that in a way without tech, without screens, and creating a space for other children who are also willing and wanting to like have that creativity can come and spend time together.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then workshops and classes for female entrepreneurs like yourself who want to hold host, whether it's like a breath work or something more intimate, you know, going through like a six-week program on you know, working with your cycle, whatever that might look like, having opportunities for these female entrepreneurs to have a home where they know, like, okay, I want to host this six-week workshop, I can do that.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_00: Aspen and Elder is there.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: I can just sign up and you know, mark my days for that.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the more people that come to this space, the wider the reach.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the more people then will also be attracted, and it will just continue to be like this beautiful melting pot of like creativity, connection, empowerment, and just building the space that I know is such a beautiful, wonderful, life-giving thing for people.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_00: I like I just that's what I want for the world.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_01: I can I can really feel your passion and your love for what you're building, and I do think it's really needed.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm really hearing Aspen and Elder being like a uh a culture and community hub where members of the community can come to connect and to really nourish themselves in these ways that we're not getting the nourishment through social media and through living these sort of individualized lives.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I'm really excited for you, Laura.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm really yeah, I'm really just yeah, watching the unfolding of this.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, since we've connected, I feel like things have unfolded.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't know if it's felt quick to you, but I'm like, oh dang, like she's moving.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's definitely felt uh quick.
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there I do put pressure on myself to I'm like, go, go, go, go, go, gotta do it faster, gotta make this happen quicker.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm having to constantly tell myself, chill.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like the only person who's putting pressure on you right now to have this thing happen is you.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the moment that you start like barreling through, trying to force things to happen is the moment that the it the brakes get put on.
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm trying to just like I keep telling everyone, anyone who has I'm like one step at a time.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm taking one day at a time.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm gonna do what I can to you know keep the ball rolling, but I'm not gonna pressure myself or push myself to have to like the timeline's gotta be quicker, you know.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta get these things done faster.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just one step at a time.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, such uh wise words for anyone listening that I think can be uh carried over into any facet of our life, one step at a time, especially when you are holding a vision such as big as yours.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, again, really excited to see this continue to unfold.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_01: And as we're sort of reaching the end of our time, I'm wondering, I know you have a Kickstarter campaign, so could you share with our listeners um how they can support this vision and Aspen and Elder if they are feeling inspired to do so?
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think first things first is reach out to me on Instagram.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, also you can email me, aspen andelder at gmail.com.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to connect with anyone that this has resonated with first and foremost.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but also there is a Kickstarter.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go to my Instagram, which is Aspen and Elder, then the link will be in there for potential donations for the Kickstarter.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am trying to raise funds for getting it started.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_00: It has taken an interesting turn because the building that I'm looking at right now, the owner is not um requiring me to pay a rent or lease at this time.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: So the initial funds were going to go towards that, but now it's gonna go more towards uh getting the building up and running because yes, it's been without a it's been vacant since 2020 and it definitely needs some love.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_00: So any donations is gonna go towards getting the building up and running, towards permits, getting it up to code, all of that beautiful stuff.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: So anything spreading the word, just being supportive is as as much as I can ask for.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_01: And just to clarify for anyone listening, uh Laura is local to Sacramento, where I'm based as well.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I know most of our listeners are based in California at this at the time being.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're in Sacramento and you're wanting to connect with Laura, uh definitely reach out.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think your story is a true testament to what we can really, I don't want to use the word accomplish, maybe create, um, what we can create when we have that support.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: And husband and elder is is intended to be that support for people.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_00: The collective rise.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_00: As we rise, everyone else rises.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the more that we can love on one another and show up for one another, I think like that it's just gonna make the world a better place.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, well, thanks for your time today, Laura.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_01: I really loved our conversation.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_01: I could talk to you for hours and maybe we'll have you on the show another day.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, really excited to continue our relationship and thank you so much for your time on the show today.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're amazing, and I just love watching all that you're doing.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 1:00:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.