This week on Authbition, I’m joined by writer Stefanie Morejon. Stefanie reads her essay “Not All Fun and Games,” a story that begins with an improvised Thanksgiving dinner abroad and unfolds into something much deeper — family, memory, avoidance, and the moments when the holidays quietly undo us.
From there, we move into an unfiltered conversation about grief, about being “fine,” and about what happens when carefully built coping strategies stop working the way they used to.
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🌐 Learn more about Stefanie’s work:
https://www.smorejon.com/
The Whole Mind Game explores nonduality — the practice of holding two opposing tensions at the same time and looking for the best of the best between them. It’s not about choosing sides or finding compromise, but about discovering what becomes possible when both truths are honored.
In this episode, Stefanie and I explore the tension between grief and joy — how we learn to carry loss without letting it eclipse the moments that still want to be lived. We talk about avoidance, being “fine,” and the slow work of letting pain and presence share the same space. The takeaway is this: healing doesn’t come from choosing joy over grief, but from allowing both to sit at the same table.
What stayed with me after this conversation was how ordinary grief can look from the outside. How capable, functional, and even joyful someone can seem — until a meal, a movie, or a memory opens a door that is never fully closed.
This episode reminded me that non-attachment isn’t numbness. It’s not pushing feelings away or rushing toward resolution. It’s allowing what’s already here to be here — without judgment, without fixing, and without insisting it be something else.
Sometimes that looks like a beautiful holiday meal. Sometimes it looks like tears over dessert. Often, it looks like both.
If this episode resonated, please consider sharing it with someone who might need it — especially during a tender season. Your sharing and feedback are what allow this work to grow.