A Perfectly Imperfect Union: Reflecting on America 250 with Ashley Houghton

The Whole Again Podcast: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kinstugi Wisdom airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Pause Breathe Reflect Microdose Meditations, Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Tips, to help us transform our scars into healing and resilience.

And between May and October, I'm sharing a new series I'm calling: A Perfectly Imperfect Union. It's about connecting with every day folks as they reflect on America at 250. Conversations will air every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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In the latest episode of A Perfectly Imperfect Union, we stay in Maryland and have our second conversation. Today it's with Ashley Houghton.

I love her question and how it frames her thinking of America: What if we stopped electing boxers and started electing legislators?

Ashley talks about America the way you'd talk about a beloved, frustrating family member, someone you love deeply even when they disappoint you.

She traces her path from national security and civil liberties work to her work today on democracy reform, and lays out her belief that structural fixes like proportional representation and ranked-choice voting could change who we elect and why.

To discover more about Ashley, visit her at FairVote.org

And her question for you and our next guest is: What are some tangible small things you're doing right now to build community and resilience where you live?

Share your thoughts in the comments and share this episode with one of your neighbors.

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With Whole Again: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore mindfulness and resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on building resilience, fitness, and stress management, as well as mindfulness practices and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools such as breathwork, micro-dose meditation, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress reduction. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embodies healing as a transformative process, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and overwhelm to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and