Lauren Johnson and Murph Murphy

A Gemini, a Sagittarius, and a Pisces entered a bar late at night for a couple shots of soju….   This would never happen because this particular Pisces a) doesn’t like bars; b) would not be out past 8 pm; c) doesn’t really drink alcohol, especially hard liquor; and most importantly, d) would not be hanging out with a Gemini and definitely not a Sagittarius in their free time.  This Pisces is more of a Libra or another Pisces type of fish because let’s be honest, they are the best signs in our zodiac. Geminis are as my niece puts it, ‘psychos,’ and Sagittariuses are very high maintenance - I mean, it took me three times to spell the word correctly. Why is it so difficult to spell and to understand and get along with a Sagittarius? Seriously.  Well, that all changed when the Pisces met this particular Gemini and this particular Sagittarius.  

I will not be sharing who is the Gemini and who is the Sagittarius because it is obvious which one is which.  But I have spent over a year working with Lauren Johnson and Murph Murphy on Embodied Presence.  This is extremely unusual because I always work alone on book projects, anguishing over every word for years and years.  I rarely share my thoughts or ideas with anyone, even when it is finished.  Why would I talk about a book after I spent my precious time writing it? I guess I should but once I’m done, I never look back.

Because of the practical nature of the project (guidebook and workbook) which will hopefully appeal to most people wanting to become an effective leader in social activism, I needed to get feedback from actual people.  I could have written in a vacuum based only on my experience and observation but I have realized how unique I am - in a good and really bad way.  So it was imperative that I hold a space for real dialogue to happen with people who can express and share their ideas.  People who are willing to be vulnerable and dig, really dig with a shovel into some hard ground, like the ones you find in the middle of winter or a sledgehammer into concrete.  Not everyone is capable of, wanting, or willing to do that.  It takes very special people.

Mind you, I’ve talked with several people about their experiences and perspective for this book but I decided, intentionally choose to work closely with Lauren and Murph because they had the maturity to reflect but also the youthful vigor and curiosity to explore questions and topics.  They are a wellspring of experience, intelligence, personality, and perspective that makes every conversation enjoyable and balanced.  They keep me in line which is not such an easy feat.  And they have issues like you wouldn’t believe … I thought I had issues but they are on a whole different level - LOL. 

Because of our conversations over the year, I have come to adore them.  There is a Korean word for the affection I have developed for them, jeong, which is difficult to translate.  Suffice to say that my father thought jeong was more powerful, stronger than love because it is a connection that develops over time like a really bad habit.  You can try to shake it off but somehow, you just can’t.  It’s like the fungal rash I had for years - even all the anti-fungal cream in the US and Korea couldn’t kill it.  It is this deep affection that has made this project bearable.

Rather than the usual written interview question and answers, I have included a short, unedited recording.  The question I asked was simply, “What did you learn this year from discussing the topics in Embodied Presence?”  I think that was the question.  I can’t remember because well, I am getting to a certain age where I don’t want to remember.  Hope you enjoy it.

And here is just the audio version …