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Why are so many of us lonely, even when we're surrounded by people? Therapist Lara Maurino Donahue MSW, LCSW , joins me to talk about the medicine of community, living in alignment, and slowing down in a world that never stops.

Lara shares how becoming a mom of three during lockdown left her drowning, and how finding a circle of women changed everything. We talk about why family and friends alone often aren't enough, why rest is a form of resistance, what it was like growing up with two therapist parents, and why you shouldn't keep your love hidden.

In this episode:

• How to tell when you're out of alignment, and how to find your way back
• What a community gives you that individual relationships can't (plus the carrot-in-the-soup analogy you won't forget)
• Making space for rest and a weekly Sabbath as a busy, working parent
• Meditation for beginners: what to do when sitting still feels hard
• Radical acceptance when you know something needs to change but you're not ready yet
• Holding both grief and joy, and why you can't have one without the other

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
• A Course in Miracles
• Thich Nhat Hanh: "The next Buddha may very well be a community" (paraphrased)
• Blaise Pascal: "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone"

Connect with Lara: https://laradonahue.com

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