I think a lot of adults believe that your childhood gets erased the moment you step into adulthood and the inner child concept is really an invitation for you to just simply reflect on your childhood and nurture yourself so that you can realize

actually I'm safe in my body and I am not my five year old self anymore. There are a lot of adults that I'm sure we have interacted with that we can say they act in ways that we will say, well that's not mature of you.

Your 30 something 40 something 50 something years old acting like a child. I have worked with so many adults who spend most of their time in session talking about their childhood because those are the years that were primitive that shaped their brain shaped what love meant shaped what care meant and here they are acting out those things that abandonment that lost in their marriages in their friendships.

Even when they go to work right. We all struggle it's maybe one of the most universal human experiences live long enough and it's going to happen whether it's rooted in relationships money, work, health, life or even just existing in a culture that makes it hard not to struggle. We're all going to feel it in different ways at different times. So riddle me this if it's such a common experience. Why do so many of us hide it?

Or try to pretend that our struggles don't exist like there's something to be ashamed of. Truth is that approach stifling your pain pretending in a way not letting anyone in to help. It just makes things worse.

So what's the better approach then? That's where we're headed in today's wise and open conversation with my guest Minneby, a licensed social worker, community care advocate and author of the new book Only Our Struggles, a path to healing and finding community in a broken world.

Minne found healing in her own life through tending to her inner child, the wounded part of ourselves from childhood which uncovered resources for resilience within. Now I know that phrase inner child may lead many to roll their eyes and we talk about that very reaction and why maybe we all might want to reconsider.

Minneby is also a huge advocate of revealing and healing in community since that's how we live and it's the place all need to eventually find peace and ease.

In our conversation, Minne also shares practical strategies for tuning into our inner wisdom and regulating our overloaded nervous systems and recalibrating our inner compass.

And we also explore how honoring personal struggles while also cultivating community can lead to greater peace, purpose and belonging.

Minne's perspective deeply rooted in her own journey of healing and discovery resonates deeply for really anyone who feels pulled in a thousand directions yet yearns for a simpler, more meaningful way of living.

Her grounding yet powerful message really invites us to listen within for the answers that we seek while also connecting more deeply with one another.

So excited to share this conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is Good Life Project.

you