An honest and open conversation about accepting yourself and others, letting go and growing from the past, having a positive mindset, and being vulnerable and open to change.

New York Times #1 best-selling children's author and children's mindfulness expert Susan Verde sits down with Kaitlin for a discussion around her new book: Say One Kind Thing: Lessons in Acceptance, Love, and Letting Go. Susan has written more than 20 picture books, and she is a highly sought-after
speaker at conferences, festivals, and schools across the nation. Verde is a frequent contributor to
online publications, and she has appeared on multiple podcasts about writing, parenting, mindfulness, and yoga. Say One Kind Thing: Lessons in Acceptance, Love and Letting Go, is her debut memoir, an original essay collection that emphasizes the power of positive self-talk and the lessons we learn from motherhood and gaining self-acceptance.

The conversation touches on Susan's childhood, which served as the background for the book, her experiences in parenting and how those experiences changed her perspective on the past, raising a trans child, and much more.

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Full transcript

QUOTES
"All of these things, whether they're, you know, very challenging or a breeze. I get to feel, I get to experience, I get to go through, or they get to go through me. And so, and for that, I'm super grateful"

"mom made a mistake and and that A is a wonderful model for them and B is so freeing for you that you don't have to hold on to this idea of being perfect."

"I had a teacher I was working with and she said, Well, What would you tell someone who, can never sit still, who can never calm down who always has to be doing something? I said well, what is one thing that you really love doing like brings you joy? And she said Well I love taking pictures. I love taking my camera and going out and and I was like well in those moments are you worrying about everything else or, you know, it doesn't mean that you have to stand still. It means that you have to just be there. Doing that thing that keeps you connected. And that right there is your stillness, your meditation, your presence."

"those things that you find that you really connect to and can really be present in those moments, that's the quieting."

"I realized that my reaction my response, my gut feeling was coming from me looking at the world through that lens and not through my child's lens, you know. And so I had to let things like that go and I had a lot more work to do and I still do. But the thing is, It's okay."

"I just love them so much and that inner light is, is there, it's not going away anywhere, so just to, you know, come from a place of that from, from all of that love from seeing all of the beauty inside of them, that makes them who they are. And then just working on the rest."

"part of kindness is being open, like you said, being open to change, right? That's a kindness to someone else and that's the kindness to yourself."

"I think that's part of the problem in the bigger scheme of things. Is this fear of change and this holding on so tight and not understanding that like you, regardless of how hard you hold on, the change is still gonna happen. And so, you know, instead of coming at it from such a negative space, try to...give yourself that kindness of openness to change and then give it to others."

"he just wanted me to be present with him. And I just needed him to be present with me and… you know, therein was the acceptance and the love."

"It's much harder to find those moments to just be, to co-exist, and also to just exist with yourself"

"Kindness is presence. It's presence. For yourself, it's presence for others. It's like really just being there. Because that's what allows for the connection. That's what allows for people to feel at ease being authentic. That's how you learn about yourself and all the wonderful things about yourself."

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