Welcome to the Commune podcast. My name is Jeff Krasno. Today we're releasing a conversation that I had over on

Substack with my good friend Kelly Gores. Kelly is a filmmaker, author, and host of the Heel podcast. You may also know her as the

creative force behind the documentary of the same name, Heel, and its eponymously named Companion Book,

which explore the mind-body connection and how awareness, emotion, and presence can be powerful

catalysts for healing. Kelly shares a deeply personal story about spending several days in complete

darkness, an experience that stripped away all distractions and

reconnected her to something simple but profound, the ability to deeply feel.

Out of that stillness came a quiet awakening and unguarded gratitude for life, for her daughter,

and for the ordinary beauty of just being here at all.

We thought it would be fitting to share this conversation in the week leading up to Thanksgiving

because it touches so directly on gratitude, a theme that runs through so many of our recent conversations,

especially through the Stoicism series that I've just released.

Kelly's reflections remind us that gratitude doesn't begin

when everything is easy or abundant. It begins when we slow down enough to notice what's already

present. My hope is that this episode helps you take a breath, pause for a moment, and rediscover

that sense of quiet appreciation, the kind that turns the simplest moments

into something sacred. Okay, so here's my conversation with Kelly Gores.

I know you need very little introduction, so I'll give you a very little one if you're okay

with that. So Kelly Gors, I first i first i think became friendly with you and aware of

you through your documentary you were the director of the heel documentary that is now available

far and wide and uh and then we spoke on the commune podcast i think in the wake of the release of your book

also eponymousously titled Heal.

...