Take Time to Reflect

Season 4, Episode 8: Take Time to Reflect Tick tock hear the clock Wake me up and say good night Kiss my salty tears DESCRIPTION Lu spent a weekend at Doctober, the documentary film festival in Bellingham, camping by Lake Samish with time to reflect between films. In this episode she shares three very different films: a Seattle Powwow, a film about human composting, and one about the memories of Holocaust survivors and Palestinians. They raised questions about home, about how memory is used and abused, and about the scars we inherit without witnessing their cause. From there she turns to the Taoist idea of effortless action, a new Open Heart Circle in her home, and the end of a five-episode arc, which finally reveals the word it spells. SHOW NOTES This episode asks: Can we really separate ourselves from our work, or is our work part of the life we want? When we remember suffering without reflecting on it, do “equality” and “dignity” become slogans without a cause? What kind of world do we want to live in? CHAPTERS Introduction: Lu the wanderer. How the daily grind detaches us from the natural world, and why connecting with it is itself an act of reflection. Act 1: A Doctober weekend. A Powwow at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, and The Life We Leave, a film about human composting and the company Return Home. Why the name puzzles Lu: we never left home. Act 2: Landscapes of Memory. How memory is used and abused, Germany’s contradiction, the scars Lu inherited from the Japanese invasion of China, and why grasping at memory is futile. Act 3: Right action without force. Starting an Open Heart Circle with neighbors, the Taoist idea of effortless action (be like water), and trust as soft power. Closing: A reflection on the last five episodes and the word they spell, why that word matters, and the trade-off at the heart of every choice. SHARE YOUR STORY                                                                                                                           How do you take time to reflect? Do you carry memories that began before you were born? Send your thoughts, stories, and questions to [email protected]. CONNECT Website: leslancreativestudio.com  Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/open-heart-with-lu-leslan/id1861169448 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2duSwoSJVHFG8wn7SsC1F9 YouTube: https://youtu.be/C47yEyI19CM Open Heart with Lu Leslan is for anyone who aspires to understand themselves and the world more deeply. Through honest personal stories, philosophical insights, and practical wisdom, each episode invites you to live with more clarity, courage, and compassion. Subscribe and share with someone ready to open their heart. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Lu's first documentary: Take a Bow: The Ingrid Clarfield Story (2011)