💩The Guy I Talked To About My Poop and Why He Made Me Cry.
Which people in your life can you tell your shitty stories to and meet the curious neuroscientist Anne-Laure
Hi! Here we are friends… It’s Wednesday, exactly one week into 2025 and it’s time for your weekly, much-needed reminder that if you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing with your life- that’s OK!! In fact, it might be more than okay- it might be the best way to go.
As you internalize all the many messages circulating right now about being more, doing more, and creating more intention, better habits, and bigger goals in your life, I sincerely hope this letter feels like taking in a huge gulp of fresh air into your lungs.
Breathe out all the distracting hype. Come back to who you are, where you are, and your lovely little reality. Walk along with me for a few minutes and recalibrate your soul toward the unique adventure you are on…
I’ll start with a personal story from a few weeks ago!
He asked for the details, paint a picture, he told me.
Paint of picture of my poop for you, I retorted.
Yes, exactly.
And so I did. I proceeded to describe the details of my bowel movements sitting across from this man I’d only just met minutes ago. His warm eyes and the kind smile (hiding under his mask now) were the reasons I picked him from the list of possible doctors.
Not for a second did I feel uncomfortable or silly, although we did laugh alot. Quite the contrary, I felt safe, seen, and heard.
After laying out my issues and answering his questions as best I could, all my fear dissipated.
I’m on your team. I’m here for you. His cheeks rose slightly and his eyes crinkled at the edges.
But I google stuff and then I worry, I told him as we neared the end of my appointment.
Look, if you feel yourself spiraling, call me. Come see me. That’s why I do what I do. I’m here for you.
Thank you, seriously, thank you so much I said as he got up to see his next patient. A nurse came in with some paperwork and as soon as she left the tears rolled down my face.
I’d forgotten how good it felt to sit with a peaceful, calming presence, someone who listened and cared and also didn’t blink an eye, who wanted to hear everything when I quite literally described my shit.
I felt like his one and only patient for those 40 minutes.
I texted my mom as soon as I got home: My gastro doc made me cry. The sweetest doc I’ve ever met in my life.
As we can all attest, life is 99% wandering through unknowns, fears, and uncertainties- in health, relationships, careers, you name it! On this path, we long to encounter people like my dear gastro doc.
In the midst of our wandering, what a gift it is to find people who meet us where we are- whether we’re lost in fear or grappling with life’s (often shitty) realities.
They remind us it’s okay to share our burdens, to speak with vulnerability, and to rely on others for strength.
It’s my hope for all of us to be the kind of companions on life’s winding journey who:
📖Invite others to share their stories- messy, raw, and real. Create a non-judgy space for their burdens to be heard.
🫶Listen deeply and undistracted- offer safety and presence in a world full of noise.
🧘Bring calm to the crazy- gently pull one another back from spiraling toward worst-case scenarios, and instead find beauty in the unknown.
👣Walk together side by side, as companions- committed to showing up through every twist and turn.
We are each moving along different trails, but we exist together in an interconnected community of fellow travelers. Let’s make our lives a cozy place for others to stop and catch their breath, so they can be re-energized for their next steps.
In what ways are you already like my gastroenterologist? Can we become the people who others call on when they need a good dose of calm, safety, laughter, or compassionate presence? Yes we can!
Be curious about…the people in your life who can “talk poop” with and you don’t feel like burden 😊
Surround yourself with those friends who lean in, put their phone away, and are always interested to hear more. You know the ones… in their presence you can share anything, and afterward, you feel lifted, enlightened, encouraged, and excited about your future once again.
I just discovered another fellow wanderer for us today- Anne-Laure Le Cunff!
She was interviewed on the Sustainable Ambition podcast and is the author of a forthcoming book, Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. Doesn’t that title make your heart explode?!
I can’t wait to get a copy in March when it comes out!
Anne-Laure’s main premise, as a neuroscientist, is teaching us to approach our lives with both curiosity and ambition- can we redefine success as the ability to follow the organic flow of our heart and see where it leads?
Curiosity is our secret weapon:
“Once I started noticing that curiosity is everywhere in my life, that it’d been the thread that had allowed me to feel more alive, more connected, more creative, I started becoming a little more curious how I could do that in a more systematic way.”
“I try to remain as curious as possible to my inner world and how I feel inside. I try to truly listen to the signals that my brain and my body are trying to send me. And I also try to never judge the signals, so any signal is a signal that is worth listening to…”
Anne-Laure leaves us with this question to ponder as we meander our way into 2025,
If there was just one question that you have, one area of curiosity, what could be one tiny experiment you could design around it?
I’m so glad you are here with me on this Wednesday! This letter brightens my entire day and I always relish the opportunity I have to encourage you to go your own way and ditch the stingy plans you had for your life for a more serpentine path! ✨
So…what are you taking with you from this letter today, tell me! The poop story!? The podcast? A new determination to be that friend? Talk to me!
Traveling with you,
