On Nurturing A Hungry Heart

By Guest Contributor Kris Wood

I often find myself months, if not years, behind when it comes to the latest musical, book, or tour. So when I discovered the Together Live “touring storytelling event” while reading “Hungry Hearts, Essays on Courage, Desire and Belonging,” I wasn’t surprised to have missed it.  

I would have LOVED to have attended one of the scheduled events over their four-year tour around the US.  But with the 2020 events having been canceled, my chances at getting onboard, albeit late, were squashed.  Gratefully, the Together Live founders and contributors did pivot quickly, deciding that the next best thing was a collaboration of poignant and personal life essays among some of the womxn presenters. 

The catalyst behind the tour’s evolution into the Hungry Hearts anthology is Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, who at 52, is a zeitgeist of our times.  For decades, Jennifer has been a guiding light and leading voice in the literary industry.  In 2001, she sold her book agency to the William Morris Agency (WMA) having led it to the number one book agency in the publishing world (and it still is).  

Jennifer is one of the Together Live founders and saw the purpose of the tour as such. Says Walsh: 

"Our mission is to bring open-hearted people from all walks of life together to find purpose, community, and get into action. It's a radical act of love that our country needs more than ever…Giving voices to artists and tearing down the walls that are making us feel disconnected and depressed.”  

As our lives stilled during the pandemic, our time for reflection along with the desire for genuine connection grew.  This inspired many collaborators of the Together Live community to join together. With Jennifer’s editing support they put their stories into the written word all with the aim of healing the country’s soul…one reader at a time.

There are sixteen essayists in total among the eclectic gathering of individuals,  including prominent writer Sue Monk Kidd.  It was through her essay that the anthology received its title…Hungry Hearts.   Her chapter entitled, “Women On The Loose'' reminds women that we all possess a capacity, a passion, or a spark for ourselves and the world around us. In an excerpt from the essay, Kidd notes: 

“It’s an energy that lives within us at the intersection of imagination and feeling.  The quest to discover it…brings us alive, by paying attention to what fascinates us.  The soul lures us through aliveness and fascination.  One way we know it’s there is through the restlessness it gives off.” 

That tickling of curiosity and impatience with things remaining static for so long has been a spark for me.  The resistance to something I start to see as potential, as challenging but enjoyable, is the aliveness that has drawn me to writing.  This capacity for discovery led me to train as a CranioSacral Therapist.  The gentle pull of what’s next is alluring and scary as hell, yet I find myself taking another step and then another in anticipation of what’s around the corner.

A universal message of self-acceptance and an attitude of gratitude told by Nkosingiphile Mabaso in her essay featured in the book entitled “Choosing Love” really resonated with me, not because I have experienced anything nearly as harrowing as she has, but because of the perspectives she gained from her childhood.  Mabaso transitioned from a heartbreaking family unit after her mother left, to attending Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, to a college graduate from Skidmore College in New York.  Her journey taught her that despite how things looked on the outside, she “deserved everything good that she wished and longed for.” 

Today she moves through life with the purpose of embodying Love for herself and others while embracing her unique-ness which includes strengths, weaknesses, and moments of fear.  

In honoring where she’s been and who she’s become because of all of this, Mabaso remarked: 

“I chose to share my story to remind people that our circumstances do not define us.  When I am in pain, I sometimes get so overwhelmed by it that I start convincing myself the pain will never end.  But everything ends.  ‘This too shall pass’, I remind myself.  The good moments will pass, and I will face another challenge.  But while it is good, I enjoy and bask in the goodness.  When challenges arise, I remind myself to be grateful for all that is still good in my life and to be grateful for the lessons, even if they are painful or uncomfortable.” 

By acknowledging and owning feelings that can overwhelm and derail her, Mabaso gives us a moving testimonial to the strength each of us has within despite our past and/or circumstances.  We can overcome. We are not our history. Rather we are potential waiting to be explored.  

We are here.  So to consider that a gift rather than a task shifts the perspective, allowing for creation to unfold. I so appreciated Nkosingiphile Mabaso’s openness and vulnerability in her story. It reminds me of a path that I feel like I’m on as well and encourages me that in those moments when I feel overwhelmed that I can recall her words of strength and feel empowered. 

The courage, vulnerability, and encouragement given freely in this book is meant to support us and remind us that we are not alone — that we belong and can learn through the journeys of others.  

Jennifer Walsh, the inspiration behind Hungry Hearts puts it so elegantly…

 “We have all experienced similar feelings of heartbreak, failure, betrayal, longing, triumph, and joy,” writes editor Walsh. “Bravely sharing our truth and encouraging others to share theirs creates a type of magic that has the power to heal and connect us more deeply to one another.”