You Do Not Have to Be Good

<p class="p1">In today’s episode, we're wrestling and dancing with Mary Oliver’s beloved poem “Wild Geese,” starting with its bold opening line: “You do not have to be good.” </p> <p class="p1">We consider questions like: What if being “good” has been a key part of our identity for years? What does it mean to not be good? Is it an excuse to be selfish? </p> <p class="p1">And what does it mean to “let the soft animal of your body love what it loves”? What might that have to do with self-trust and finding our own voice?</p> <p class="p1">...And what if we are the wild geese? </p> <p class="p1">All this, and much more, in today's episode. </p> <p class="p1"> </p> <p class="p1">References:</p> <p class="p1"><a href='http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_wildgeese.html'>“Wild Geese”</a> by Mary Oliver</p> <p class="p1">On Being episode with Mary Oliver: <a href='https://onbeing.org/programs/mary-oliver-i-got-saved-by-the-beauty-of-the-world/'>"I got saved by the beauty of the world"</a></p> <p class="p1">“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” --from <a href='https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/item/poetry-180-133/the-summer-day/'>“The Summer Day,”</a> by Mary Oliver </p> <p class="p1"><a href='https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-to-Be-Perfect/Michael-Schur/9781982159313'>How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question</a>, by Michael Schur, creator of the TV show <a href='https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4955642/'>The Good Place</a> </p> <p class="p1"><a href='https://www.goodinside.com/about/'>Dr. Becky Kennedy</a> episodes of <a href='https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/how-to-raise-untamed-kids-with-dr-becky-kennedy/id1564530722?i=1000579533370'>We Can Do Hard Things</a></p>