Meditative Story

Just out of school, writer Alex Morris gets a job performing and teaching improv comedy in London, playing absurd characters night after night. But his knack for hiding his true self starts long before he ever steps onstage. Alex is hiding a secret — one that only his family and a few close friends know: he’s slowly losing his sight. He shares a story about his struggles living with a degenerative eye disease and the lengths to which he would go to pretend he didn’t need help.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sara Benincasa, comedian and writer who turns personal struggle into candid comedy. She recounts the rush of applause, grappling with anxiety and agoraphobia, and how performance blurred persona and self. She describes choosing solitude, sobriety, and small daily practices to find worth inside. Short, reflective, and quietly powerful.

Martha Beck, bestselling author and life coach known for writing on personal transformation, shares a story of shifting from perfectionist striving to open curiosity. She recounts childhood pressure, intense Mandarin study, and a revelatory time in Japan. The conversation explores learning with beginner's mind, embracing emptiness, and practicing compassionate curiosity.

Franklin Leonard, film executive who created The Black List to spotlight unproduced screenplays. He recounts near-death moments and sudden pivots that pushed him from law and consulting toward creative risk. He describes founding a platform to champion writers, mapping life to a three-act story, and intentionally calling in future plot twists.

Susan David, psychologist and author known for emotional agility, shares a personal story of grief and the teachers who taught her to make space for feeling. She explores fear of loss, honest courage, the healing power of being seen, and learning to hold others’ pain with compassion. Short reflective prompts invite listeners to practice gentle presence.

Wayne Little, a top nursing administrator who led UCSF’s mass COVID vaccination effort, reflects on a lifelong calling to care inspired by an early mentor. He recounts caregiving in youth, deep patient bonds, mobilizing nurses in crises, designing a 23-lane drive-thru, and how joyful teamwork and equitable care shaped a community-focused response.

Hannah Cross, a licensed clinical social worker who blends evidence-based therapy with compassion from her own recovery, shares how working at a youth incarceration center reshaped her approach. She describes creating a welcoming space, the talking-stick experiment, guiding a teen through panic with presence, and how simple, loving presence can open the door to deeper healing.

A guided self-love meditation that invites you to settle with breath and softening. It explores companionship including the steady love of a pet and the joy of passionate hobbies. The practice expands to universal compassion before turning inward to emphasize self-care rituals. Short prompts encourage naming simple acts of self-love and celebrating them.

Lex Gillette, a five-time Paralympic medalist and world-record long jumper who lost his sight as a child, shares how he shaped identity through sport and music. He talks about discovering the long jump as a refuge, reclaiming music in college, and using songwriting to connect and create moments that let him be seen on his own terms.

Marcia Gay Harden, Tony- and Academy Award-winning actress known for stage and screen work, shares a first-person tale about family patterns. She recounts childhood routines, a commanding father, and how impatience and perfectionism followed her into adulthood. She describes learning to sit with discomfort, practice patience through pottery, and deliberately unlearn habits to reshape her family life.