Many fantasize about dramatically changing their lives — living in accordance with their ideals rather than the exigencies of job, bills, and possessions. William Powers actually does it. In his book Twelve by Twelve, Powers lived in an off-grid tiny house in rural North Carolina. In New Slow City, he and his wife, Melissa, inhabited a Manhattan micro-apartment in search of slow in the fastest city in the world. In Dispatches from the Sweet Life: One Family, Five Acres, and a Community’s Quest to Reinvent the World, the couple, with baby in tow, search for balance, community, and happiness in a small town in Bolivia. 

Just days before the 10th anniversary of the mortifying September 11 attacks, a plane crash off the coast of Chile rocks a nation, and here in Uruguay we are all reminded of the pain and sorrow of loss. It reminds us of the unpredictability of life, how every day surprises us in some way, and then sometimes surprise becomes shock, with the death of a loved one, a sudden illness or a tragedy that moves us all.

We are reminded that life changes, sometimes abruptly, dramatically, unexpectedly. What is present in one moment can be gone in the next: no matter the nation, no matter the motivation or the cause, loss moves us all, for we have all experienced it in some way or another.

After we read a life-changing book, most of us tell our friends about it. Sometimes we bring it to a book group to discuss it with others. But how many of us record that conversation and share it online?

Nate Bettger did just that with Bill Plotkin's Nature and the Human Soul. The director of community for Mandala Yoga Community in Bend, Oregon, Nate created podcasts from group discussions he organized through the center's weekly community gathering. Excited by Nate's unique way of sharing and exploring Plotkin's work, I decided to ask him a few questions for our blog. Enjoy!