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634: The Happiness Paradox & Lessons from Life’s Last Room with Amy Low

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Sep 11, 2024

Guest

Amy Low

Amy Low, author of "The Brave In-Between" and Managing Director at Emerson Collective, shares her transformative journey of living with terminal cancer. She offers profound insights on navigating life’s complexities while confronting mortality. The discussion touches on the paradox of happiness and how the pursuit of happiness can often lead us astray. Low emphasizes the importance of finding meaning over material pursuits, especially in familial and communal relationships, ultimately advocating for embracing life’s fleeting moments.

01:31:44

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Episode notes

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ANECDOTE

Wounded Water Buffalo Story

Many people sent Phil Vischer a news story about a wounded water buffalo escaping in Des Moines.
A radio station in Omaha even played the "Water Buffalo" song while discussing it.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Icelandic Cucumber Shortage

Numerous people sent Phil Vischer an article about a TikTok trend causing a cucumber shortage in Iceland.
An influencer's salad recipe led to a surge in demand that farmers couldn't meet.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Mushroom-Controlled Robots

Researchers connected oyster mushrooms to robots, letting the fungal networks control their movements.
This experiment explored the similarities between mushroom electrochemical responses and brain activity.

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Light-Hearted Conversations and Health-Conscious Sponsorships

01:32 • 4min

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Festive Banter and Seasonal Traditions

05:42 • 5min

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Whimsical Wildlife and Witty Banter

10:33 • 12min

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Awakening the Glutes: Overcoming Gluteal Amnesia

22:42 • 4min

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The Quest for Happiness: A Modern Exploration

26:13 • 14min

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Navigating Birth Rates and Meaning in Modern Society

40:08 • 17min

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Finding Joy in Family and Pets

57:35 • 3min

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Navigating Life and Mortality

01:01:01 • 15min

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Confronting Complexity in Faith

01:15:41 • 13min

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Navigating Faith Through Suffering and Loss

01:29:07 • 3min

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Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

In 'Eat, Pray, Love', Elizabeth Gilbert chronicles her journey as she leaves behind her outwardly successful but inwardly unfulfilling life in the United States. The book is divided into three parts, each set in a different country: Italy, where she seeks pleasure and indulges in the local culture; India, where she delves into spiritual practices and meditation; and Bali, Indonesia, where she aims to find a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. The memoir is a personal and introspective account of Gilbert's struggles, growth, and self-discovery during her travels.

Hannah's Children

Catherine Pakaluk

The Lost Virtue of Happiness

Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life

J.P. Moreland

Klaus Issler

This book offers practical spiritual disciplines to cultivate a deeper sense of happiness. It emphasizes forming a receptive heart, a thoughtful mind, and a trusting will, providing strategies to manage anxiety and depression through meditation on God's goodness.

The Brave In Between

Notes from the Last Room

Amy Low

In this memoir, Amy Low candidly shares her experiences living with stage four metastatic colon cancer. The book delves into her personal story, from her diagnosis at age 48 to her ongoing treatments and surgeries. Amy reflects on the concept of the 'last room'—a metaphor for facing life’s final stages with courage and grace—and how her faith and the virtues from Philippians 4:8 have guided her through her darkest times. She also discusses her journey towards forgiveness, particularly in the context of personal challenges such as infidelity and divorce. The book emphasizes finding beauty in the mundane and living fully despite terminal illness, providing a powerful testament to human resilience.

Today’s show is all about perspective. First, Phil offers his perspective on the news stories fans send him on social media about Icelandic cucumbers and water buffalos, and how they compare to articles he actually likes about robotic mushrooms and avoiding gluteal amnesia. Then, a recent article explores our culture’s focus on products, practices, and apps designed to increase our happiness, and why focusing on happiness is a sure way to miss it. And Christine Emba’s latest article in The Atlantic looks at why government support and financial incentives have failed to reverse declining birthrates in many countries. She argues the decision to have children isn’t about money but meaning. Then Amy Low shares about her memoir “The Brave In-Between” and the perspective she’s gained by living with a terminal cancer diagnosis for five years. Plus, Skye and Mike Erre have different perspectives about holiday decorations.

Holy Post Plus:

Bonus Interview with Amy Low: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111819242/

0:00 - Intro

1:52 - Show Starts

2:52 - Theme Song

3:14 - Sponsor - Hiya Health - Go to https://www.hiyahealth.com/HOLYPOST to receive 50% off your first order

4:19 - Sponsor - Go to https://www.fromourplace.com and use code HOLYPOST to get 10% off site wide on beautiful cookware!

5:28 - Holiday Decor Disagreements

11:56 - Wounded Water Buffalo

15:11 - Tiktok Blamed for Cucumber Shortage

18:22 - Mushrooms Piloting Robot Hands

22:25 - Dead Butt Syndrome

28:09 - Does Tracking Happiness Make Us Miserable?

41:07 - Is the Decline of Birth Rates Really Economic?

58:45 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling - This episode is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. Give online therapy a try at https://www.faithfulcounseling.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off

59:52 - Sponsor - World Relief - Visit https://worldrelief.org/holypost/ to find out how to get two FREE e-learning courses and celebrate World Refugee Day with World Relief!

1:01:06 - Interview

1:06:01 - Why Did Amy Low Write The Brave In-Between?

1:10:10 - What Are the “Rooms” We Go Through in Life?

1:17:00 - The Honesty That Comes Out Near Death

1:23:10 - Where is the Meaning in Pain?

1:31:10 - End Credits

Links Mentioned in the News Segment:

Water Buffalo That Was on the Loose in Iowa Captured:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/water-buffalo-on-loose-injured-aggressive-iowa/

Viral TikTok Video Creates Cucumber Shortage in Iceland:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2024/09/06/viral-tiktok-video-creates-cucumber-shortage-in-iceland/

Robot controlled by a king oyster mushroom blends living organisms and machines:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/04/science/fungus-robot-mushroom-biohybrid/index.html

Sitting All Day Can Cause Dead Butt Syndrome:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/04/well/move/dead-butt-syndrome-gluteal-amnesia.html

Are We Happy Yet?:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/opinion/happiness-tracking-america.html

The Real Reason People Aren’t Having Kids:

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/08/fertility-crisis/679319/

Other resources:

The Brave In-Between: Notes from the Last Room by Amy Low: https://a.co/d/5Hm69Ic

Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/

Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus

Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost

Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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