Hey, it's Maggie Smith.

I'll be joining you on Monday, August 18th with brand new episodes of The Slowdown.

Until then, here's a look back at an episode from Ada Limon's tenure as host.

I hope you enjoy the selection from the archives.

I'm Ada Limon, and this is the slowdown. I know it's easy to be let down by humanity.

You might be feeling let down by humanity right now.

Humanity.

Ugh, who needs it?

And yet, amazingly, people can overcome loss or grief or great tragedy

and just keep living. That perseverance

can overwhelm me, can shred me into tiny pieces of emotional ash. It can flatten me. So I want to

praise those little things that allow us to continue. The garden, the birds at the feeder, the

friend who texts out of the blue to see if you're doing okay. My dog is one of those bright

spots in my life, a reason to wake up or be kind to myself or walk or nap or laugh. Right now, my dog is sitting

on the back porch watching the birds come and go from the feeder, still so upset that I dared

to feed the flying beasts that flit in and out of our Kentucky backyard. Watching her makes me watch them. And for a while,

we are both just peacefully noticing the world. It's something I had forgotten to do. She brings me

back to myself, yes, but she also brings me back into the world. Today's poem explores how the love of an

animal can help us process grief and even remember the precious value of touch. This is a poem by

Sana Wani.

Lately I am trying to teach my dog how to be alive.

When she arrived in my life, she was a surprise, and because she surprised me, she was a miracle. It was a time of death. It always is.

...