A Free Spirit Life

About A Free Spirit Life

A Life That Lets Me Breathe is a collection of conversations and reflections inspired by the changing seasons, creativity, nature, bread, flowers, books, and the quiet art of living well. Each episode is an invitation to slow down, notice beauty, gather often, and create a life rooted in what matters most. Whether we’re talking about the garden, baking bread, making art, raising a family, or finding wonder in ordinary moments, I hope these conversations feel like pulling up a chair at The Evergreen Table. Because sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do is simply make room to breathe. shannonkinneyduh.substack.com (https://shannonkinneyduh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Shannon Kinney-Düh

Category

arts · leisure

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Sept 2017

Latest episode

12 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

95 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Aug 2026

   The Wild Within

   This morning, the cicadas are loud. They are singing outside as I record this week’s episode of A Life That Lets Me Breathe - that unmistakable sound of late summer here in the Midwest. I could go inside and find somewhere quieter. But I don’t want to. There is something I love about letting these conversations hold the sounds of the season we’re actually living in. The birds. The wind. The cicadas. The imperfect, ordinary life happening around us while we sit together and talk about what it means to be human. I’ve been noticing how much is changing. Not only in my own life. Almost every conversation I have seems to circle back to the same thing: Something is ending.Something is beginning.And we aren’t entirely sure what comes next. For some, it’s a relationship. For others, a job. A role. An identity. A way of living that once felt tolerable, but suddenly doesn’t anymore. Some people are choosing the change. I’m done with this.I can’t carry this anymore.This isn’t mine. Others feel as though life is making the choice for them. And then there are those who can’t even name what is changing yet. They simply feel it. A restlessness. An anticipation. A strange knowing that something is coming. Maybe you feel it, too. Sometimes we change before our lives do. I think one of the most disorienting parts of transformation is that the change often begins inside of us long before there is evidence of it outside of us. Something shifts. We begin wanting different things. What once felt normal starts feeling uncomfortable. What we once tolerated becomes intolerable. What once seemed impossible begins whispering, maybe. And yet, when we look around, our lives may still look mostly the same. That space can be incredibly unsettling. Our minds want to understand. Where is this going? What am I supposed to do? How will this work? Am I making a terrible mistake? We want the map before we take the first step. But perhaps some seasons aren’t asking us for a map. Perhaps they are asking us for self-trust. To listen. To notice what lights us up and what drains the life from us. To recognize what we can no longer pretend not to know. And then to trust that the next step will reveal itself when we need it. What becomes unbearable when we love ourselves more? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: Sometimes the thing that changed isn’t the job. Or the relationship. Or the circumstance. We changed. Something we could tolerate for years suddenly becomes unbearable because we have grown in our capacity to love ourselves. And perhaps that discomfort isn’t evidence that something has gone wrong. Perhaps it is contrast. It shows us where we have abandoned ourselves. Where we have made ourselves smaller. Where we have stayed because staying was familiar. Where an old role, expectation or identity no longer belongs to the person we are becoming. The things that once taught us how to love ourselves may eventually have to fall away because we learned. And that doesn’t always mean leaving everything behind. Sometimes a relationship changes with us. Sometimes a job becomes something different. Sometimes an old dream transforms into a new one. And sometimes, yes, we realize something has reached its ending. We don’t always know which it will be while we’re standing in the middle of it. That is where trust comes in. Learning to live without the straight line. I don’t have answers for this season. I’m living it, too. I’m letting what makes me feel alive guide me. I’m practicing staying in the moment instead of demanding that I know what happens five steps from now. I’m learning that uncertainty doesn’t always mean I’m lost. Sometimes uncertainty simply means I have left the old path, and the new one hasn’t appeared yet. And maybe we’re allowed to stand there for a while. At the edge of the forest. Listening. This morning, as I was thinking about all of this, I opened a voice note and began speaking. I wasn’t trying to write anything. But when I finished, I realized a poem had arrived. So I’ll leave it here for you, too. The Wild Within Sometimes what you need mostis not more movement. Not force.Not the right answers.Not making sense of it all. Sometimesyou don’t want to walkthe straight line - linear,certain,understandable,predictable,sure. Sometimes what you long for mostis a new rhythm. To step outside of time.To flow. A time to honor the uncertainty.To throw caution to the wind.To be brave. To take a new path.To get off the path altogether. To see what waitsbeyond the edge of the forest. To shine brighter.Expand wider.Allow your heart to becomefuller,freer,more alive. There is a callto return to the wild within you. The wild that knows the next step.The wild that has faithand trusts - the process,the moment,your own creative energy. The fire.The power.The wildnessthat knows where it wantsto take you next. Now is not the timeto fear the dark. Not the timeto run from the shadowor hide from change. But to walk toward it. To stand taller within it. And to remember - your ancestors,your angels and guides,Mother Earth herself,and all of the stars are holding you,guiding you,cheering you on - one beautiful,messy,imperfect,uncertain,wild step at a time. Maybe you don’t need to know where the path leads today. Maybe you only need enough courage for the step that is here now. And then another. And another. Until one day you look around and realize that the life outside of you has finally begun to resemble the life that was quietly taking shape within you all along. Keep taking good care of you, my friend. I’ll be over here doing the same. With love,Shannon Come gather. 🌿 The Evergreen Table (https://www.theevergreentable.love/) is a place for bread, blooms, letters, stories, poetry and the small things that bring us back to wonder. If you’re near Kansas City, you can join me for sourdough focaccia, seasonal bread and blooms. And wherever you live, you can join Letters from the Evergreen Table (https://www.theevergreentable.love/letters-mail-club) - a monthly gathering through the mail filled with handwritten letters, stories, poems, creative inspiration and little bits of everyday magic. I would love to meet you there! Get full access to Shannon Kinney-Duh | The Evergreen Table at shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe (https://shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   1 Aug 2026

   Returning to What Gives Us Life

   There are seasons when life asks us to do more. And then there are seasons when life quietly asks us to pause, slow down, and come home to ourselves. This summer has been one of those seasons for me. I’ve spent more time in the garden than at my computer. I’ve baked bread instead of chasing ideas. I’ve painted, listened to the birds, watched flowers bloom, and tried to become a little more present to the life that was already unfolding around me. Something unexpected happened. The quieter I became, the more alive I felt. Not because everything was suddenly easy. This has actually been one of the messiest seasons I’ve walked through. But I slowly realized how much energy I’d been giving away - to worrying, fixing, waiting, explaining, and trying to control things that were never mine to carry. As that energy returned, something beautiful began to grow. Not just bread. Not just flowers. Not just art. A new way of living. This week’s A Life That Lets Me Breath Podcast is about that journey. It’s about reclaiming our energy, remembering our creative nature, and trusting the quiet invitations that keep returning to us. It’s also the first time I’m sharing the story behind something very dear to my heart… The Evergreen Table. (https://www.theevergreentable.love/) The Evergreen Table wasn’t built from a business plan. It grew from a life that finally had room to breathe. People have asked if it’s a bread business. An art project. A flower stand. A writing practice. The answer is yes. AND…it’s so much more. It’s an invitation to gather around what nourishes us. I hope this conversation feels like sitting together over warm bread and tea, reminding one another that it’s never too late to return to what gives us life. I’d love to hear what has been quietly calling you lately. What’s one small thing that makes you feel most like yourself? Email me and let me know - I truly enjoy hearing your stories. hello@theevergreentable.LOVE. Also, I’d love to invite you a little deeper into this growing community. Letters from The Evergreen Table (https://www.theevergreentable.love/letters-mail-club) is my monthly snail mail club - a handcrafted letter filled with stories, original watercolor, seasonal recipes, creative invitations, reflections from the garden, and little fun surprises created to invite you to slow down, spark your creativity, and gather around what truly nourishes you. In a world that moves so quickly, these letters (https://www.theevergreentable.love/letters-mail-club) are my way of bringing a little beauty, wonder, playfulness, and presence right to your mailbox. If that sounds like something your heart has been longing for, I’d love to welcome you! Come gather with me and I’ll see you this month in your mailbox. :) You can learn more here: Our Letters Snail Mail Club (https://www.theevergreentable.love/letters-mail-club). Keep taking good care of YOU. With gratitude, ShannonTheEvergreenTable.LOVE | @shannonkinneyduh Get full access to Shannon Kinney-Duh | The Evergreen Table at shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe (https://shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   11 Jul 2026

   What if Life is an Improv Dance?

   Hello, friend. This morning I wandered through my garden with my phone in one hand and absolutely no plan for what I was going to say. The birds were singing. The cicadas were buzzing. A warm Kansas breeze moved through the flowers, and I simply started talking. I’ve noticed something changing in me lately. (Do you feel yourself changing, too?) For much of my life, I wanted certainty. I wanted the five-year plan, the map, the reassurance that if I worked hard enough and made all the “right” choices, life would unfold exactly as I imagined. But this season has been teaching me something entirely different. It’s teaching me that life feels less like following a carefully choreographed routine… …and much more like an improv dance. Every morning I step outside, and the garden reminds me of this. The flowers don’t bloom all at once. The tomatoes aren’t in a hurry. The herbs grow in their own rhythm. Even the sourdough starter sitting on my kitchen counter has become an unexpected teacher. It asks me to slow down, to pay attention, to trust a process I can’t rush. None of these things seem worried about tomorrow. They’re simply becoming who they were created to be. I’m wondering what would happen if we gave ourselves permission to do the same. One of the ideas that kept returning as I recorded this week’s podcast was the space between the exhale and the inhale. That tiny pause. The moment that can feel uncomfortable because nothing seems to be happening. So much of life lives there. Between who we’ve been and who we’re becoming. Between certainty and possibility. Between letting go…and receiving what’s next. I think we’ve been taught to rush through those spaces. To fill them. To fix them. To plan our way around them. But maybe those pauses aren’t empty after all. Maybe they’re where our nervous system remembers that we’re safe. Maybe they’re where our hearts become loud enough to hear. This week, I’ve been practicing something simple. When I notice myself wanting all the answers, I take one slow breath. I pause just a little longer before the next inhale. And I remember that the next breath always comes. Maybe that’s what trust feels like. Not knowing exactly where we’re going…but believing we don’t have to walk there alone. 🎧 This Week’s Podcast In this week’s episode of A Life That Lets Me Breathe, I’m sharing a conversation from my garden about urgency, uncertainty, wonder, and why I think life may be more like an improv dance than a perfectly planned performance. If you’ve been navigating change, letting go of an old version of yourself, or simply longing to breathe a little deeper, I hope you’ll come walk beside me for a while. What’s Blooming This week, I’m smiling every time I step outside. The zinnias are in full bloom, my basil is thriving, and every morning brings a new surprise. I have so much to learn! The garden keeps reminding me that growth isn’t linear - it unfolds in its own beautiful timing. What’s Baking The kitchen has become its own little classroom. Sourdough focaccia has completely captured my heart, and I’m preparing for my first larger baking week. Every loaf feels like another lesson in patience, creativity, and trust. I can’t wait to share more from this journey with you. This Week’s Invitation Before you move on with your day… Pause. Take one slow breath. Notice the space before the next inhale. Can you soften there? Can you trust that the next breath will come? And then ask yourself: What would change if I danced with life instead of trying to control it? Thank you for being here.Thank you for walking beside me. I’m so grateful we’re remembering together! With love, Shannon | A Free Spirit Life | TheEvergreenForest.Love | @shannonkinneyduh Get full access to Shannon Kinney-Duh | A Free Spirit Life at shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe (https://shannonkinneyduh.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

9,230

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

46

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

85

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Guest appearances

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