This weekend I was reminded of all the sh*t that just really doesn’t matter.

My extended family gathered in Ellicottville, NY where my mom grew up and where my love story with Mike officially began to celebrate my Uncle Phil’s life.

There was a life-sized cut out of him positioned in front of a life-sized prototype of a jet my other uncle invented. There were temporary tattoos of his face. My mom, my sister and I cut wildflowers from the field outside the airplane hangar where the event was hosted and arranged them in bud vases placed atop colorful tablecloths my other aunt brought home from Peru.

The kids climbed in and out of the airplane prototype behind the laughter and tear-filled stories about Phil, informing us that they were bad guys heading to the Bahamas on one flight, and fancy ladies headed to Paris on another.

Phil’s life was about what he experienced and how he loved, not so much about what he did, as my Aunt Penny poignantly framed as she opened the event. He certainly racked up plenty of impressive accomplishments, but nobody who came up to the microphone to share what Phil had meant to them focused on those.

Instead, they shared about how he was a safe person to call when they were in trouble. How he welcomed people without judgement. How he always seemed to have time to pick up the phone and talk. How he adored his wife and inspired them to love that way, too.

Mike and I wouldn’t be married if it weren’t for Penny and Phil. Not only did we meet through a business we were part of because of them, they modeled a version of partnership that we hadn’t seen anywhere else before.

Having lost two uncles in the last 6 months who were incredibly precious to me and who inspired me in the way they lived, I’ve been thinking more about the things I’ve spent time spinning out about that don’t matter.

The years when Mike was really sick and kept getting terrible injuries are squarely in my rearview mirror, thank goodness. But there’s something about loss that brings life into technicolor for me.

Those years our family struggled because we had one man seriously down have been peeking at me from the corners of my consciousness, beckoning me to not miss the preciousness of how everyone in our nuclear family is thriving health-wise.

Because it’s easy to forget that thriving is actually a really big deal.

There were years when, without me fully being aware of it, a huge amount of our family’s time, energy, attention, and money went toward trying to figure out what was wrong with Mike and making him well again.

And now he is.

One of the instrumental angels in his healing was my friend Sinclair Kennally.

The way she came into our lives was pure grace. I had no idea as I was supporting her in bringing her category of one healing practice into the world that, two years later, her work would be exactly the thing that would save our family.

So the timing of this week’s Plenty episode with Sinclair feels synchronistic.

We talked about mold, parasites, the relationship between the nervous system and the immune system, and why symptoms may sometimes be the body’s attempt to protect and heal us rather than simply problems to make disappear.

But we also ended up somewhere I didn’t entirely expect: talking about life force.

About what drains it. About the people and patterns we give it away to. About what happens when generosity crosses over into codependency, especially when it comes to money.

And about becoming a better steward of the life you’ve been given.

After a weekend spent hearing story after story about how my uncle gave his life force to the things that mattered, that part of our conversation is sticking with me.

I don’t want to need another loss or another health crisis to remember what matters.

I want to notice now.

And I want to be more discerning about where my life force goes while I’m here to spend it.

This week’s episode is called “You Probably Have Parasites”: The Money Reframe Nobody Wants to Hear with Sinclair Kennally.

It’s about your health, your money, the things that drain us, and what can happen when we start paying closer attention to what our bodies and our lives are trying to tell us.

Press play for a conversation that will change how you think about what’s draining your health, your money, and your life force.

Xo,
Kate