239. Why Are We Never Satisfied? with adrienne maree brown
Sep 7, 2023
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adrienne maree brown joins the hosts to discuss finding beauty and connection in everyday life, the power of music in processing emotions, sustaining connection, healing through theater and storytelling, the concept of 'enoughness' and its impact on personal satisfaction and education, body image and societal judgments, cherishing life and expressing love, and the importance of vulnerability, sisterhood, and partnerships.
Finding satisfaction in life requires prioritizing and pursuing activities that truly bring joy and connection.
Engaging in simple pleasures and rituals can create a sense of aliveness and connection in everyday moments.
Discovering our purpose and living in alignment with it leads to a profound sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
Deep dives
The Importance of Finding Satisfaction in Life
The podcast episode explores the concept of satisfaction in life and emphasizes the need to cultivate it. It highlights how society often perpetuates a sense of inadequacy and the constant desire for more. The speaker shares a personal experience of being asked if they are satisfiable and how it made them reflect on their own level of satisfaction. They discuss the importance of finding contentment in the simple things and engaging in activities that bring joy and connection. They also touch upon the discipline required to prioritize and pursue what truly satisfies us, even if it means saying no to things that don't align with our true desires.
The Power of Simple Pleasures and Rituals
The episode emphasizes the significance of finding satisfaction in life through simple pleasures and rituals. The speaker shares personal practices such as enjoying a cup of tea, writing, and spending time with loved ones. They explain how these seemingly small actions can create a sense of aliveness and connection. The speaker also highlights the transformative power of engaging in arts, music, sports, and other forms of collective experiences. They explore the sense of unity and inspiration that arises when people come together through shared activities and expressions. The episode encourages embracing simplicity and finding satisfaction in everyday moments.
Discovering the Sentence of Our Lives
The episode delves into the journey of discovering our purpose and how it relates to satisfaction. The speaker reflects on the importance of finding the sentence or essence of our lives, that fundamental calling or passion that brings us fulfillment. They share personal experiences of recognizing writing as their main story and how honoring that calling leads to a sense of satisfaction. The speaker emphasizes the need to prioritize our true purpose and desires, even if it means letting go of relationships or pursuits that detract from our satisfaction. They encourage embracing the rigor and discipline required to live in alignment with our purpose and finding contentment in the journey.
Recognizing and embracing personal satisfaction
The podcast discusses the importance of recognizing and embracing personal satisfaction. It encourages listeners to let go of societal expectations and external validation and instead focus on what truly brings them joy and fulfillment. The speaker shares personal experiences, such as exploring the concept of orgasm and the quality of experiences, and emphasizes the importance of paying attention to one's own body and desires. By simplifying our lives and redistributing resources, the podcast suggests that satisfaction can be found in simpler things and that we have the power to redefine what it means to live a good life.
The unsatisfiable nature of external expectations
The podcast delves into the unsatisfiable nature of external expectations and the pressures to conform to societal standards. It highlights the cultural messages surrounding body image and relationships, such as the pressure to be thin or to find a partner, and how they can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction. The speaker reflects on her own experiences of rebellion and self-acceptance, discussing the importance of setting personal boundaries and making choices that align with one's own desires. It also touches on the significance of vulnerability, authenticity, and living in the present moment as ways to find true satisfaction in life.
Are you capable of being satisfied? Today, adrienne maree brown helps us uncover:
How to find beauty and connection in the everyday;
How to stop wasting your time on things that don’t feel good;
Why the greatest risk of life is also where its preciousness comes from;
How, through the discipline of pleasure, we can ALL be satisfied.
About adrienne:
adrienne maree brown is a pleasure activist, writer, and radical imaginist who grows healing ideas in public through writing, music, and podcasts. adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas, frameworks, networks and practices for transformation. adrienne’s work is informed by 25 years of social and environmental justice facilitation primarily supporting Black liberation. adrienne is the author/editor of several published texts including Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds; Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good; Grievers; and Maroons. After a multinational childhood, adrienne lived in New York, Oakland, and Detroit before landing in her current home of Durham, NC.
