I have a unique story and yet here I'm trying to look and sound like every other artist

that's making country music. Trying to fit in, trying to act the part to be

noticed. It can't work. It just isn't me. In my life, I'm always taught to listen.

When I was younger I'd listen to my elders. I'd listen to my mom. I'd listen to

my guy. If I listened, I could fit in. If I listened, I could get approval. I'd do

everything they tell me and nothing works. I feel like a stallion tied up in a stable,

itching to run free.

Mickey Gaiton is as country as they come. As a young girl raised on the gravel roads

of central Texas, she fell in love with the music of Dolly Parton and influenced that

still informs her approach to singing and songwriting. But as a black woman in a traditionally

white industry, Mickey has had to brave questions of authenticity that would never be asked

of her contemporaries. Her new EP is called Bridges. And if the old saying that all

country music is, is three chords on the truth, then Bridges truly is a kind of gospel

itself. A record filled with songs is courageously personal as they are defiant need political.

Do cue it up.

In this series, we combine immersive first-person stories and breathtaking music with the

science-packed benefits of mindfulness practice. From weight to art and thrive global, this

is meditative story. I'm Mogen and I'll be your guide.

The body relaxed. The body breathing. Your sense is open. Your mind open. Meeting the

world.

My family is country. Real country. Like I've got cowboys in my family country. Gravel,

dirt roads, sprawling dry fields of wild grass country. Legit. My grandmother is poor,

...