#32. Seeing Wonder All Around Us: Kathleen McKitty Harris, 49
We are just stopping life for the COVID-19 pandemic; forced to hit a pause. Where is the wonder?
Today I’ve changed up my content calendar to bring you an episode that speaks more to where we all find ourselves today – dealing with the uncertainty of a global pandemic. I had this conversation last week with Kathleen McKitty Harris and feel this is an especially timely episode because she challenges us to see the wonder all around us, every day. That means even now while our autopilot has effectively been ground to a halt. Kathleen and I talk about:
How she gained confidence in her 40s to really embrace her calling
The quest for identity
How she’s feeling about the coming empty nest
How we can weather life with confidence because of our experiences
How we, as GenXers, have an opportunity to be a bridge to other generations.
I personally love how Kathleen captures both the beauty and absurdity of life, with a dash of humor, on her Instagram posts. In the episode she talks about how all we have are our stories -- and that every day we start a new one when we rise. We have more opportunity than ever to witness the ordinary now as we social distance, which I think gives us back a sense of control.
Kathleen McKitty Harris is a fifth-generation native New Yorker whose work has been published in Longreads, Creative Nonfiction, Sonora Review, McSweeney's, and The Rumpus, among others. Her essay, A Timeline of Human Female Development, appears in “My Body, My Words - an anthology centered on body image and positivity, and named by BUSTLE Magazine as one of “11 New Feminist Books That Could Totally Change Your Year.”
Kathleen also performs as a storyteller at such venues as The Moth in New York City, and co-hosts the “What’s Your Story?” reading series in her backyard in northern New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an irredeemable dog.
Connect with Kathleen: Website | Instagram
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For similar episodes, check out:
#14 - Julie Zuckerman is also a writer (and 49) who worked at her goal of publishing a book for 10 years
#10 - Amy Heard Davidson talks about finding compassion through curiosity
#7 - Erin Prather Stafford says we all can - and should - be creators
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