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Ep 25: When Purpose Speaks: Reclaiming Voice and Wholeness
35 Plays27 days ago
In this episode, Dr. Autumn sits down with spoken word artist Cookie B, who discovered her gift through a reluctant college assignment—and later had to fight to reclaim it. Together they explore what it means to walk in your God-given gifts, heal from what silences you, and find freedom in creativity and faith. Through personal stories and powerful poetry, Cookie reminds us: when you live out your purpose, you don’t just serve others—you come alive.
Intro and Outro Music Credit: Savage by Beat Mekanik, Free Music Archive, License type: CC BY
Please visit: www.autumnswain.com
Contact: autumn@thealignedleader.org
IG: @drautumnswain
FB: Autumn Alena Swain
How to find our guest, Cookie B.
IG: itscookieb
You can find her Spoken Word pieces including her new album on all listening platforms.
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Transcript
Introduction to Align Living Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello there, I'm Dr. Autumn, leadership consultant, wellness coach, author, and I'm incredibly grateful to be your host of the Align Living podcast.
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm here to equip you with the tools, inspiration, and practical tips necessary to lead a life of wholeness and pursue greater shalom in your life and that of your families, teams, and communities.
00:00:34
Speaker
My mission is to empower you to lead from a place of holistic wellbeing. It's time to say, peace out to the fatigue, fog, and frustration of living in a place that lacks abundant wellbeing.
00:00:49
Speaker
Join me as we embark on a comprehensive exploration of spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic well-being, all within the comforting embrace of one podcast.
Meet Cookie: Artistry and Faith
00:01:08
Speaker
Well, Cookie, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you here with me. I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation. These things are always really cool to me.
00:01:18
Speaker
It's like, yes, ask me questions. Let's talk. Yeah, for sure, for sure. And it's just it's it's so fun, especially to have you here, because when I first met you as a person, I'm like, oh, I want to get to know this person more. You're so dynamic and fun and we're faith aligned and all of that.
00:01:35
Speaker
um but But, you know, having gone to your show as a spoken word artist, your your release, when you were releasing your new album and all the conversation around mental health and the connections was happening in your body. I'm like, my goodness, we're going to have so much fun talking about this. And so, um, but just, uh, so the listeners have some context, I would love for you just to start by sharing a little bit about,
00:02:03
Speaker
um you know, your inspiration for your album, but even go back a little bit, like, how did you even get into spoken word in the first place? Because i love how you talk about you use these two sides of your brain and your work, you have this analytical side in the finance, and then you have this artistic side. And, you know, you know, what, what's been your inspiration? and then, yeah, tap into the inspiration for your, your most recent album you released, and even how that ties into your story. Yeah,
00:02:34
Speaker
Okay. All right. Let me start by, guess going back to where, how I even got into Spokal Word in the first place. It was one of those gifts you didn't, I did not to expect coming. and No part of me wanted it.
00:02:48
Speaker
um I was in my sophomore year of college and umm I'm not a writer. I'm a math girl. Math and science is my jam. I also have a love for bringing people together and being that person that creates space and finds intentional ways to, you know, just love all the people around me. But being in front of anything was, that's, that wasn't my MO.
00:03:11
Speaker
So this, this church had called me and asked me, there was a local church where I went to school at, they were doing a 9-11 tribute, um, big community outreach day that they do
Cookie's Spoken Word Journey
00:03:23
Speaker
every year. And this year, that year it happened to be on 9-11 and they're like, Hey, you know, we got your number from one of your classmates. We are wondering if you can come out and do a poem for our 9-11 tribute to kind of honor the families. And I just laughed at this lady because I'm like, I'm not a writer. You, ah you called the wrong person. I was like, appreciate it, but I'm not a poet. I don't write.
00:03:50
Speaker
I believe you got the wrong person.
00:03:54
Speaker
And she just laughed at me and it was like a very subtle laugh. And she's just like, I'm pretty sure we got the right one. You can call us back when you know. And I'm just like, what do you mean? So one prayer for clarity and couple years of obedience. And here I am.
00:04:16
Speaker
i There were a couple of years of obedience and then there was the period, there was a period that I was was like, okay, I feel like I'm supposed to do this. so I'll do this one poem and this is it, which turned into, hey, can you come back? Hey, we saw this video of you online. And I'm like, don't share videos.
00:04:32
Speaker
don't know who, I don't do it. But I feel like I'm supposed to do it. So I'm gonna do it because I gotta, I gotta be obedient, but that's all I got for y'all. So five, six years of that to,
00:04:46
Speaker
finally looking at myself, speaking and seeing like, wait, who is she? I don't know. And being gets inspired by seeing the way that I presented in rooms where I was doing spoken word and on stages and stuff. And just like, who is that girl?
00:05:02
Speaker
I want to i won't be like her. Okay. Maybe I'm supposed to do this. Like maybe this is more, you know, beyond obedience, but maybe this has something deeper. And started to that's when I started to pay attention and recognize how it was impacting the people around me, how people were affected by words, how I was being used in that way. And I'm just like, this is for the people. This is great.
00:05:26
Speaker
Perfect. Fast forward. And then I'll get to the second part of your question, just in this. So fast forward to a ah there was a period of my
Overcoming Toxic Relationships
00:05:40
Speaker
life. So the last relationship I had was like, ended up being super toxic, but also like a blessing. It was like the best and worst thing that could ever happen to me.
00:05:48
Speaker
In a sense of, I remember in my process to kind of break free and get away from that space. um in this in the kind of in the healing journey like okay let's unpack the mental space let's unpack experience let's see what things are what the differences were from before then and now and just try to like you know get back to a sense of health to kind of move forward and i remember reflecting on the relationship and seeing how it's like all of every area of my life was like fine everything was moving smoothly nothing was affected
00:06:26
Speaker
that there were There were no like dips in any other area of my life. um not Not as far as like when it came to like the things that I did or the work that I did more so. It's like you saw some character things as far as like, oh, I'm more shy and more timid and more fearful.
00:06:43
Speaker
But on an overall level, it's like the few of the businesses that I had, the work that I was doing in the day, nothing was affected or by the so that period of my life.
00:06:55
Speaker
Except this one area, except the area of my artistry and spoken word. So I'm seeing that, you know, that was missing. So I go from, it's like, okay, when things started off, I was kind of in the jam things, things were grooving.
00:07:11
Speaker
Then you get to this space where you start seeing that that this person, is like fake supportive of it. They're not really like, it's like, oh, they, yeah, do your thing. And then it's like, oh, every time I do my thing is the problem. And slowly, unintentionally, unconsciously seeing how I go from, I could be at operating at a level 10 in spoken word to like a level seven, then I'm like at a level five, then it's no longer a part of my day-to-day movements.
00:07:41
Speaker
And just seeing the way the differences in the way that I moved, the way that I presented, it was like, yeah, I became less bold and more, more fearful, more hesitant, less confident, less, less confident in things that I said or things that I felt or things that I, my perspectives and things.
00:08:01
Speaker
And I was like, I think i think spoken word does something for me too, because it was like when I am, and not even at that point, it was like a comparison to, okay, but when this part, when spoken words introduced to me and in the years that came after that, I saw myself grow from this shy kid who kind of just like wanted out of the spotlight, who really wanted to be out of everybody's way.
00:08:29
Speaker
just like, I'm gonna just do the things I'm responsible for. And if somebody comes over here, I'll connect with them then to being the person that is bold enough to speak against injustice or speak against things that are wrong or challenge challenge perspectives and environment and mindset and go into places and be the one that speaks, to be the one that, hey, how you doing? I'm Cookie, can i help you? Let me find a way to serve. Let me find a way to impact to be, to exist in this space to, so seeing those elements and it's just like, yeah, I became this person because of, because of my, the the way that this thing was a part of my identity and that stuff. And then it was removed and I, all of that stuff, all of, all of the good fruit that came with that was stripped from me.
00:09:17
Speaker
So I'm like, this is something that is for me too. And still in this, this, in the healing journey in a sense. And it's just like, I get it.
00:09:27
Speaker
It's like, if you think about, I follow Marvel and Tony Stark and all of them. but There was this point where I am when I had that breaking point, I remember thinking I'm sitting in like reflection prayer and speaking and this poem coming out. And I'm just like,
00:09:48
Speaker
we this time. So there was like this breaking moment and moving forward. So familiar with Marvel, i there was this revelation around like, okay, you think about Tony Stark.
00:10:02
Speaker
Tony Stark wears this suit and it has this heart emblem in it where he is able to, empowers his suit for him to go save the world. So it's like, I put this suit on, I'm for the people. But when he takes his suit off, the heart thing is still there to keep him to keep him alive, to keep him moving and breathing too.
00:10:19
Speaker
So retrospect, this heart piece of mine is is my spoken word. So it's like, I'm thinking like, I'm just Iron Man. Like I'm just out here to help and save the people, you know, however I can aid in the people, then cool.
00:10:33
Speaker
But then seeing this is like, no, this helps me too. Oh, this keeps my heart beating. This keeps me alive. This keeps me aligned with the life and the perspectives and the viewpoints and the mindset that I'm supposed to have and keeps me moving boldly in that.
00:10:47
Speaker
so yeah So there was this revelation around that and in the process of my healing, kind of going through this place of mental, ah where my mental capacity was challenged. Cause you think you're going from, you're trying, I'm trying to,
00:11:05
Speaker
get my mind from believing old lies and identities that have been attached to me well before the relationship. But it's like childhood stuff.
Mental Health Struggles
00:11:14
Speaker
It's like you pull off back the layers and it's like, this is the related to family and my parents or my these experiences with siblings, these lies that I kind of believed since I i was a kid.
00:11:26
Speaker
So now I'm trying to like strip myself of them. And there was this war that was going on in my head. Like I could be, if I'm home, any, i could be home, but and when I'm home by myself, there's like this mental pull string that is like happening in my mind of like, I'm tired of that mentally exhaust you in the way of being tired of, it's like, i'm yo, I'm tired of speaking truth against the things that I keep thinking That feeling like it's like, okay, I know I got to do it, but this is exhausting. It's just like all day, all day long. But the moment you turn, it's like, all right, but if I go to a space where other people are, or if I go to a public setting or to my sister's house or somewhere, it's like the thought stopped. But the moment I'm by myself, it was like, this is all day. and So experiencing that.
00:12:16
Speaker
Having a, so my dad is, my dad struggles with, he's he's he's diagnosed bipolar. He's 40, 40, he's about 50 years in now, but diagnosed 40, 42, he was 18, 42 years.
00:12:30
Speaker
He was, on yeah, so he's diagnosed bipolar. And it just made me compare like, yo, this is what I'm dealing with right in this this capacity. can only imagine with people who deal with this more regularly, with people who,
00:12:45
Speaker
have mental disorders or who are chronically depressed or anxiety out the roof, who have other mental illnesses or who deal with grief or who, you know, it's like other traumatic things that can happen. I'm like, yo, know I had a relationship that kind of smacked me right into Let me figure out what's going on in my headspace in my life. And it's like, they're not even are they just other people who deal relational things, but it's like there's grief.
00:13:11
Speaker
There's all of the unexpected things that will come crashing in to our minds, to our brains that make a shift. So now at that point, now I'm looking at this, the world through this mental lens of,
00:13:25
Speaker
what what is your mind doing? Like, are you okay? You know, is is your mind, like, how is your mind? How is your mindset? Like, we can move and do day-to-day things, but it was just like, where?
00:13:37
Speaker
I just want to know how your head is. Mm-hmm. So... yeah Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Actually, you know, i I will ask you more questions about your your album because I do want to get there because it's it's so inspiring. But i i love what you said about...
00:13:55
Speaker
you have this gift and when you use it, it blesses the world, but it also blesses your own heart. And, you know, i spend so much time like studying the body and understanding a body so I can serve my community, you know, sort of line living is all about.
00:14:11
Speaker
um But one thing that I haven't really thought about in depth is the role of walking in our giftings that God has given us as a part of our health journey.
00:14:22
Speaker
Right. You know, we talk about, you know, physical health, you have to eat right, move our bodies and stress management and mental health, emotional health, social health, all the things. But how much is also walking in your purpose and your gifts part of your health journey. I mean, one, when you when you find peace or when you have peace, that that helps our our health in many, many different ways. But I even just think about you know where my happy places are.
00:14:51
Speaker
um I have to be doing certain things in my work to feel like it's, it's helping other people more I'm walking my giftings, but I feel way more fulfilled.
00:15:02
Speaker
So that's very interesting. I would love to dig into that even more eventually down the road and like the role of that as it relates to mental and emotional health and spiritual health and all of that. um So thank you for sharing that.
00:15:13
Speaker
um Something specific about spoken word that I, the value and appreciate ever since I was in my early twenties, you know I'd be going to spoken word shows because I just love the art. like i I think we're all creative because we are created by ah created in the image of God. So we're creative in our own ways. But I like to say I'm not artsy creative.
00:15:32
Speaker
and but so But I have such an appreciation for people who are. So this is what I think is so amazing about ah spoken word in general and your album. So I am a great coach. I have my Align Living community. I will coach people all day long. But you have to be ready to be coached.
00:15:48
Speaker
to enter into the space to be like, okay, like this is how personal training works. You have to be willing to walk into the gym and whatever it and be like, okay, I'm ready. Sign me up. What I love about the artistic gifts and spoken word specifically, and this is even like musical lyrics, is you will get in front of an audience maybe before they're ready or know that they need something.
00:16:14
Speaker
And there's a way that you can say something through spoken word that if I said it in just like a matter of fact way, it wouldn't have the same power and meaning as it does when it comes through and for spoken word or this artistic expression.
00:16:30
Speaker
I think it's words are beautiful, right? Like language is beautiful and there's something significant. A lot of there's a lot of things in the Bible that talk about the value and the power of our words. And so I think when people are gifted to put words together in a certain way,
00:16:46
Speaker
that it could take your breath away. Quite, quite real, right? Something that like, reading a nonfiction book doesn't, you know, there's just something amazing about like the different gifts coming together. And so um the thing that's really on my heart, as as we speak is you know, God talks about how we're all important. We all have a value. does It doesn't matter if you're a toe or a hand, every part of the body is important.
00:17:15
Speaker
And I feel like sometimes people, this is part of the mental health battle, is their self-worth, feeling like they're not an important part and that they're not needed. Whereas I want everyone to know you are important.
00:17:27
Speaker
And so one of the things that I want to speak into a little bit more now, and maybe there is one of your, um, spoken word pieces that you you kind of leaned into this topic of freedom and finding freedom because I think that in this aligned living journey right like sometimes people get stuck in a place and they want to be somewhere else and there's this gap and we know that so much of freedom is on the other side like where you are getting closer to wholeness and closer to this place of holistic health
00:17:58
Speaker
but sometimes you could feel stuck. Like what, what advice do you have to share? Cause you obviously went through this journey of and found success um in it. Like what are some of the most significant things people need to do in in finding freedom and kind of breaking free um of things that they feel that are holding them back?
Identity, Purpose, and Freedom
00:18:20
Speaker
Oh, what are some things they need to do or in the process of finding freedom? I believe just in my experience and even when what I observe, a big part of it is being, is isn't is learning who we're meant to be, learning what we're created to be, learning the capacity. It's like, yeah, it's like not just, it's like beyond knowing our identity, it's just like, what were you created to be? and that in turn will teach us our identity, which in turn will give us this confidence
00:18:55
Speaker
not only confidence, but like a vision to be able to see ourselves in places beyond where we may be right now, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, because if we think back, it's like, no, I i was created and designed for for this level of goodness.
00:19:12
Speaker
This doesn't align with it. So the most I can do is see myself outside of this space to be to push and motivate, to do the things I need to do to spread my wings and fly.
00:19:23
Speaker
so Sure, sure. I'm actually going to ask you about what are some of your favorite disciplines in in finding like good mental health? Because this analogy just came to mind as you were speaking, you know in finding freedom. When I so used to do a lot more nutrition coaching...
00:19:40
Speaker
people would feel like I'm restricting them, like saying, okay, you can't, you need to limit your intake of these certain things. Like it'd just be a few processed foods, this and that refined sugars.
00:19:53
Speaker
um And then they would feel like I'm restricting them. But really what I was doing was helping people find freedom in their food journey, because there's thousands of thousands of things that they were allowed to have. Mm-hmm.
00:20:06
Speaker
And once you broke free of why, what kind of attachment did you have with food that you were in bondage to sugar, let's say, so that it became very, very difficult and your mind was playing this, you know, kind of trick on you saying like,
00:20:27
Speaker
man, I don't want to live a life of so much restriction when actually it was trying to help you get into a place of freedom where you could eat to fuel your body. And it's not saying you could never have that, but where it didn't have this level of control over you, you know, you were able to be around food, exercise self-control, still enjoy it, right? And so it almost makes me wonder like what kind of, when you're in this pursuit of, you know, mental health and navigating the mind, you spoke of like, sometimes you have to speak truths over those things.
00:20:58
Speaker
Where do you think, what are some of the biggest lies that people tell themselves or what are some of the most important like disciplines that people can integrate to help them on this journey and pursuit of of greater mental health really when, especially when they find themselves stuck?
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah. One of, okay. Two questions. All right. One of the biggest lies I think we tell ourselves is in regards to our worth it's it's us being worthy us being unworthy of goodness or incapable of doing good being good etc so it's like the word thing it's like how we how we identify with being worthy of something better something good something more fulfilling in sense to what they
00:21:49
Speaker
That's one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves, that we're not worthy. And then it shows up in what we receive and the things that we deal with and the things we settle for and environments we place ourselves in all of that.
00:22:01
Speaker
And when I think about, so the next question was practices, like around what we- Yeah, some disciplines or mental health, yeah. Yeah, so some disciplines. um One thing, and this is hard, so, cause you have to, there's as a part of it is once you learn- that you were created or designed for goodness, right? Like, you know, you can have a, they use it in technology examples and stuff all the time, but it's like, you can have a phone and not know, say you don't know what to do with a phone. It's like, it's like, okay. So you're just using it as like, okay, I use it as a paperweight.
00:22:37
Speaker
I use it, you know, i got this thing, but I'm using it as a paperweight or I'm using it to, know. hold something up in the house or I'm like, I'm using it to measure a table or a line, something in that way. And more so like by just placing it next to each other in that way. Right.
00:22:56
Speaker
And then you learn all the things that the phone is meant to do. yeah And it's like, oh, okay, well, how do I, date so they, they say that this can, I want to be more organized.
00:23:09
Speaker
They're saying this can, this can help me to be more organized, then right, let me kind of envision myself in that. So I say that fast back to people. So it's like we can use things in the wrong capacities, but without knowing what it was meant for, it's hard for us to envision it as something else.
00:23:26
Speaker
So one practice is i've that I've done after after the learning of, well, what was I created for? this was And that came from me, like going back to the beginning of, let me read Genesis.
00:23:38
Speaker
I'm going to go read Genesis and figure out this design, this garden design that that was attached to Adam and Eve. Before we ate the fruit, before we ended up eating something that caused us fear and shame and guilt, what was what were we aligned to do and to be, et cetera?
00:23:58
Speaker
And it was like, if you go back and if you go and read it, um especially those who are like biblically aligned in sense, you will see it. these people had everything they needed. They were free of shame, guilt, worry, anxiety, um depression. All of these things were not things that were part of their existence.
00:24:16
Speaker
So seeing that and then fast forwarding it to to my life in the current, it's like, okay, if if i was created and designed to not have the weight of these things, then these things aren't things that belong a part of my everyday life.
00:24:30
Speaker
So in a visioning and ah I envisioned myself or more so it's like now I'm trying to see myself in this space of if I wasn't designed for fear then what is causing me where are the feelings of fear coming from and how do I how can I like you know kind of like combat them in a sense right it's like okay I'm fearful of this okay let me go find the truth or i'm believing this about my worth okay let me go search for the the the opposite because from what I learned about what I was designed to be and do and experience, these things don't line up yeah
00:25:07
Speaker
So it was like a stripping of, it's like, a okay, now I'm trying to align myself with this life, would this with this life, with this person. that I was designed to be in a sense, right? And, you know, it's like life abundantly looks like this.
00:25:21
Speaker
It doesn't look like me walking around in worry and fear and shame. It doesn't look like me holding on to sadness. So how do I now let me take, let me unpack and figure out what, how, why the sadness is sitting on me so I can find this life that was supposedly meant for me. So it's like, what are we doing?
00:25:41
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Exploring 'Resuscitation'
00:25:44
Speaker
Yeah. I would say like, um, everyone should, you know, of course take a listen to your full album, but as you were speaking, it reminded me of my favorite, uh, piece on the album grains because you speak, yes, you speak. This is so much of about like what you're speaking to, but like, just to hear it in that art form, i recommend people go and listen to it because it speaks about, you know, the the goodness that we were,
00:26:10
Speaker
meant to experience and yes there's a lot of hard but like going back to you know um god created humanity and was like this is good and created earth and this was good and of course now we're um you know amidst so much brokenness but like at the root we can still find that goodness and so i love that um piece. So y'all should definitely listen to it. But to kind of wrap up, I would love for you to talk about one of your other favorite pieces and what like the messages and the you know, maybe a little bit more like, what was the inspiration behind it?
00:26:49
Speaker
Man, okay.
00:26:52
Speaker
I love grains. I love open hands. think my next favorite piece Not, ooh, message creativity. Okay.
00:27:04
Speaker
Creative wise, it's dead and alive as it gives a ah second person, first person and third person perspective on suicide and suicidal thoughts and that process and what that is.
00:27:19
Speaker
But I will say my Next second, my second, my next second overall piece deals with grief and heartbreak and what that can do to us. It is called resuscitation.
00:27:32
Speaker
So, yeah, I like that one with the heartbeats on And it just tells the story about what it is to, to miss someone and the interesting things. So I wrote this, the first part of this poem was really inspired by someone who's still alive.
00:27:50
Speaker
So my dad, who's still alive, but it's like, there's this like, yo, I miss you. Because the dad that I once knew, the dad that i once had in a sense is like no longer, it's like, no, I remember This kid, this guy from my childhood who was fun, who used to ride bikes, who used to ask really important questions and now seeing you as somebody totally, you know, somebody totally different, somebody who can't even think the same.
00:28:15
Speaker
It's like, I miss you. So in in the first, a portion of it was like inspired by this yearning for my dad that I had. And I remember like Father's Day used to be super weighty for me.
00:28:29
Speaker
um And wrote this, kind of wrote this out on a father a day after Father's Day and a sense, in trying to, in a ah yearning, because I recognize how so much of my identity, so up so much of my joy and my freedom was kind of attached to this yearning for my father.
00:28:52
Speaker
It's like, ah. Yeah, i don't i don't want to be around any but I don't want to be around anybody. i don't i find my I find it hard for me to connect with others. I find it hard to to open up, to to like really to to really spread my wings in a way.
00:29:08
Speaker
And i'm not like there's a lot of life that I'm possibly not experiencing because a big part of me is still attached to this person who I miss dearly. It's like, dang, you can't do that. I want so much more for you.
00:29:20
Speaker
i wish... You knew that you could get up from your mat and still do something and still walk and still be in a sense. And recognizing how so much of my dinner my ah my my my joy and my my peace was still kind of wrapped in that.
00:29:36
Speaker
resuscitation kind of tells this piece of story where it's like where we're missing someone, whether they're dead at all whether they're dead or alive, um it eventually turned into this like, yeah, you you wish their heart, it's like you wish their heart was beating, you wish they were here, you wish it was their life, you wish it was their smiles, their life, their breath that was that was running through some lungs.
00:29:55
Speaker
And this flat line where it's like this, which could what doubles into this realization of either them not being here anymore or you getting, or them not being here anymore in some figurative or physical way.
00:30:10
Speaker
to your heart also not being here because they because of because they're not here. It's like, okay, it's a flatline, but it's kind of for, it's of them and of you because we've allowed ourselves to to die off, to kind of be gone with the win in a sense. We've lost motivation. We've lost joy. we've We've lost, we lose drive in a sense because of these relationships that are lost. And it's just, so then it turns into this like, yo, no, but we can,
00:30:37
Speaker
resuscitate. We can find life and we can find ways to still appreciate this relationship, this legacy, this being this person and not lose ourselves in the process.
00:30:48
Speaker
So there it was like this call to like, yo, yes, feel all the things, but then also be empowered and reviving yourself and seeing how you are still meant, all the different ways that you are being called to live and show up to so that you can you can kind of go on. So resuscitation. Yeah, um and when y'all listen to resuscitation, you can get some goosebumps, I promise y'all.
00:31:11
Speaker
You'll get some goosebumps. So, but in in wrapping up, I do want to ask, you know, you just share with everyone where, where they can find you. But I just want to mention one thing that just really stood out to me when you were talking about grieving. because Cause I feel like that's a big part of mental health is like the experiences that we experience in this world that are hard. Yeah, they're guaranteed to happen. I think most people, you know, navigated grief, and we might navigate it in an unhealthy way or a healthy way. But there is a healthy way to go through this process. And it's just such a real thing.
00:31:49
Speaker
And it reminds me of the seasons of my life where I was grieving the most or where I was in a pit. I remember my therapist saying, yeah, but Jesus is in that pit with you. It's okay to be in this this hard place. But what I noticed was spiritually, every time I'm in a hard place, and I say this to encourage everyone, um when you're experiencing hard things in in the world, ah it's an opportunity to elevate spiritually. And I strongly believe this because you get to see God in new ways. When you're in your comfort zone, you know it's easy just to kind of be cruising along on cruise control, but but the hard, even though it's really hard, You know, both both myself and Cookie can attest to you. Like when you're in hard places, it's not fun.
00:32:32
Speaker
But the opportunity to allow God into your life in new ways, because when you were talking about your father, I feel like, you know, when we experience these challenges or or these voids,
00:32:45
Speaker
we get to see God in a new way. You probably get to experience God as a father and a way that maybe i don't fully understand.
Spiritual Reflections and Encouragement
00:32:55
Speaker
My mom, who had a very, very rough childhood and at times didn't have love for herself, the way that she has such she doesn't take God's love for granted. The way she views God's love is so special because God was able to fill that gap and and her learning to like love herself and see yourself in the way that God sees her.
00:33:16
Speaker
So there's something so beautiful about the good that could come out of grieving or loss or hardship. And if you just open yourself up and you can allow God to do, of course it requires vulnerability, but you get to to elevate in a different way because,
00:33:35
Speaker
of the hard. And that I just wanted to share that because as you were talking about that, i was like, man, isn't that something special? Like, you know, God doesn't desire hurt or brokenness, but he could take it and allow something so special to come out of it that then you could turn around and and help others in that same way. And so um I just thank you for stepping boldly into your gift, being afraid of talking in front of people. And then all of a sudden you're speaking in front of audiences. sharing this incredible gift and it really is a gift and y'all really need to take a listen to our album we'll put it in the show notes the link so you can um get the specifics but any final words cookie and also well our official show name cookie bee um any final words or um also let people know where they could find you okay all right well
00:34:28
Speaker
You all can find me at anywhere on social media at itscookiebee, I-T-S, cookie be it ts you got to put the it's, I-T-S, cookiebee. On any social media platform, I can also be found at itscookiebee.com.
00:34:41
Speaker
So if you're not in the socials, go and go to the website, subscribe, stay in the loop. I post there as much as that you get as enough updates there as well as the social media. You can actually get more social stuff if you go to the website.
00:34:53
Speaker
And then if you want to find my poems, they're on my website. You'll find links on my social medias, but you can also search Cookie B, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, all the little places you can stream.
00:35:06
Speaker
And yeah, I'll leave you with...
00:35:11
Speaker
so Final words. you there You don't even know the capacity that you are built for. We are barely scratched the surface on our worth and what we're capable of And I just challenge you to chase the life that was meant for you, regardless of where you're at now. Just know that there is something better because goodness was created for you, just like it was created for everywhere else that you see goodness. So Look for that and you'll find it. I love it. I love it.
00:35:47
Speaker
ah Thank you so much for spending some time with me, Cookie. And to my listeners, thank you for being here. And until next time, stay aligned. See you.
00:36:02
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to the Aligned Living Podcast. I'm Dr. Autumn, your guide on this journey to shalom or wholeness. Ready to embark on this journey of self-discovery and transformation?
00:36:17
Speaker
Head over to autumnswain.com to learn more and to dive deeper into the world of Aligned Living. Until next time, stay aligned.