In this conversation, Jacob and Scott talk about…

* the inability of the US to deal with gun violence

* Scott’s very personal experience with gun violence

* Scott’s trip to a gun range

* young Jacob’s 12-inch Bowie knife

* that time Jacob shot a squirrel, and a robin

* taking ownership of our hypocrisy

* the Avatar-vibe to hunting and raising animals

* Jacob’s plant-based diet (don’t call him a Vegan though)

* feeling called versus feeling pressured

* the impossibility of caring about everything

* listening to and trusting your heart

* Jacob’s 30-day complete news detox

* one way to make a real difference in our world

* the importance of focusing on what’s within your arm’s reach

* honoring the deepest call of your being

* anti-racist, et al. activism

* the body’s immune system as a metaphor for activism

* how love = joy = life

* the power of love to create real, healing change

* resisting the call to hate and dehumanize

* being intentional with how we show up in the world

* maintaining empathy and compassion no matter what

* moving beyond perceived truths that are no longer accurate

* the slow crawl to evolution, and acknowledging the progress

* being with our feelings of heaviness and overwhelm

* feeling empowered by our open connections with others

* Jacob’s experience with his son’s mental health

* how inner health adds beauty to every aspect of life

* destigmatizing mental illness and autism

* how it’s never too late to create change in our lives

* being there for someone without trying to fix them

Books that Jacob mentioned:

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution by Jaiya John

Movie mentioned:
Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao (we talked about it last week, too, but it’s that good)

Here’s the poem Scott read at the end of the show:

A Prayer

by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Refuse to fall down

If you cannot refuse to fall down,

refuse to stay down.

If you cannot refuse to stay down,

lift your heart toward heaven,

and like a hungry beggar,

ask that it be filled.

You may be pushed down.

You may be kept from rising.

But no one can keep you from lifting your heart

toward heaven

only you.

It is in the middle of misery

that so much becomes clear.

The one who says nothing good

came of this,

is not yet listening.