Picture taken during my in-studio radio interview with Krista Tippett.
In your life, every once in a while, you get the inkling that something important is happening, something that will change you. You don’t know exactly what or exactly how, but you are no longer the same. There are no bells, no whistles, no drama in your reaction, but rather a feeling that is somewhere between an ache and a tickle.
This was how I felt upon leaving my in-studio, radio interview with Krista Tippett almost 10 years ago in the summer of 2007. (See photo.) My book Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence had come out the previous year. Krista’s show was then called Speaking of Faith. I often tell people that this interview was the best one I have ever given. Krista is that good at interviewing. (Here is the link: http://www.onbeing.org/program/matthew-sanford-the-bodys-grace/185 )
At the time, I had no idea that this interview would be the single most important launching of my work into the world. They have played it countless times over the years. The interview was also important for the arc of Krista’s life. Our interview inspired her to start a serious yoga practice. This change in her personal life led to the changing of her show from Speaking of Faith to its current name On Being. Krista and I have also becomes friends over the years. I feel very fortunate.
There was a moment during the interview where Krista asked me about a quote from my book, “I have never seen anyone become more aware of his or her body without also becoming more compassionate.” I remember struggling a little to respond but knowing in-my-bones that this observation was a cornerstone of my life’s work and that of my non-profit Mind Body Solutions. I have spent the years since working to communicate and teach what I meant by that line. I have developed an approach to teaching yoga that can reach anybody regardless of his or her level of trauma, loss, or disability. I have also developed breakthrough training to help healthcare professionals deal with medical burnout and compassion fatigue.
This is all coming full circle on Tuesday, December 13 in an event hosted at Saint Catherine University, beginning at 7 pm.. It is the 3rd annual Mind Body Dialogues, a program created by my non-profit. Krista and I will be interviewed by Cathy Wurzer, the host of MN Public Radio’s Morning Edition. The topic will be “Embodied Compassion.” The evening’s festivities will air in the New Year both on MPR and on Twin Cities Public Television (TPT).
We are living in a time of great mistrust and disillusionment. Never has our country felt more divided or more fractured in my generation. Never has compassion felt more needed. We cannot let our different beliefs divide us at the deepest levels of our humanity. Compassion is not a moral insight. It is a graceful, deeply felt sensation that connects us to each other and the world around us. I hope you will listen in, watch it on TV, or come join us in person.