(DOUG JESSOP – JESSOP’S JOURNAL) Last time I checked, the brain is connected to the rest of the body. In this Jessop’s Journal episode we turn our attention to the subject of mental health in extended powerful, positive and inspirational stories.
Here is the full “Mental Health” episode featuring candid moments with Joel McKay Smith and Levi Lindsay. Jessop’s Journal is a 30-minute collection of “Powerful, Positive & Inspirational Stories” that airs Sunday morning at 10 on ABC4 Utah and worldwide at JessopsJournal.com
In this episode of Jessop’s Journal we are talking about “Mental Health”—
Our first guest shares a powerful message of what’s called “neurodiversity”
In between, Our Musical Guest, Cinders entertains us with a positive message of remembering to keep our “eyes half open”
Levi Lindsay has an inspirational story of prioritizing what’s really important
Everyone has a story. Objects with stories are Treasures Remembered.
But first, Joel McKay Smith
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Joel McKay Smith’s passion is something that I’m glad to hear is being talked more and more openly, mental health. He is very transparent; “Anytime I run across an instance of someone struggling with bi-polar disorder I volunteer because I’m bi-polar.”
A related topic that I am glad to help shed light on. Joel used a broad term; “Neurodiversity. The ability to provide employment for this incredibly brilliant class of people that has been referred to as autistic and Asperger’s, spectrum, and everything else.” J
I interviewed a gal recently, Katie Higley, and one of the things she talked about. She had a friend that had attempted suicide and the message that they have is “it’s okay to not be okay.” What does that mean to Joel? His reply makes you think. He said; “What is normal? What is a stereotypical way that somebody thinks? So if it’s okay to not be okay. You just find a balance point where you are not going to damage yourself or someone else or someone that you are responsible for. That is the topple point of the okay you have to be able to get to.”
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There is something special about growing a plant and seeing the potential present itself in a powerful and beautiful way. LaRene Bautner is the owner of one of my “happy places” – Millcreek Gardens.
One of my favorite inspirational quotes is from Audrey Hepburn. She said “to plant a garden is to have faith in tomorrow.”
It was fun to explore the history of Millcreek Gardens in this episode of Jessop’s Journal. What you might not know is that the building in the middle of this busy nursery was LaRene’s childhood home. Watch the full episode for details.
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This week’s musical guest, Cinders, entertains us with their song “Eyes half shut”
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Everyone has a story. Objects with stories are “Treasures Remembered(TM)”
You’ve probably heard of the movie epic “The Ten Commandments” by Cecil B. DeMille. But did you know that there was a biblical epic before that classic?
Dr. Micah Christensen with Anthony’s Fine Art & Antiques invited us to a special viewing of an incredible treasure tied to the DeMille movie “Sampson & Delilah.”
Come to find out that Mr. DeMille invited a special group of renown artists to Hollywood to each paint a specific biblical scene that would then be used in different movies.
You probably know illustrator Norman Rockwell as the artist that created countless covers for Saturday Evening Post. He also happen to be one of the artist that DeMille recruited.
The lead actor playing Sampson was none other that Victor Mature. Dr. Christensen showed me a photograph of Mature modeling the classic “temple column” scene in a door jam as Rockwell sketches.
I get to learn interesting things interviewing people and this story is no exception. Apparently Rockwell would do a number of smaller sketches in preparation for making his “big” painting. The last step would be a full size sketch with charcoal on… wait for it… butcher paper!
The original charcoal sketch was found and restored and for now resides at Anthony’s in Salt Lake City, Utah. You’ll definitely want to watch the episode to see this incredible work and get more details.
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Have you ever taken a “walk in the clouds?” I have with the help of Skywalker Balloon…
I admit I have some anxiety about heights. Since this episode touches on mental health, I figured it might be fun to show something fun I did to try and help overcome, or at least cope with, this anxiety.
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How comfortable are you about talking about your mental health? In this episode of Jessop’s Journal I met with Levi Lindsay who’s story may sound familiar because it may be something that you are going through.
An argument can be made that stress is good. If you didn’t stress about anything certain things might never get done. If you don’t show up for your job, you might not end up having a job very long. However, there is the old phrase; “Too much of a good thing isn’t good.”
Levi is a hard-working, ambitious guy. He devoted three years of his life to a startup business, but found himself staring at a crossroads in his life. He ended up missing a family members birthday party to go close a business deal.
He found himself at a crossroads as he realized that he was having anxiety attacks and burnout. This fun little pandemic thing didn’t help either. Levi’s wife told him that she “wanted her husband back”. I’m not going to tell you everything about Levi’s story in this article (that’s what the video is for, hint…watch the video for the “rest of the story”) but I will tell you that he did something that changed his life.
LinkedIn is an interesting social media network with a business emphasis. You can see a lot of my articles and comments there. Levi is pretty active on the website as well. He told me about posting a question about how comfortable people were with talking about their mental health at work. It was interesting to note that while society has come a long way in the mental health conversation, there is still a lot of hesitancy on the subject. What is your opinion?
Consider this your personal invitation to watch this entire episode of Jessop’s Journal and share it with someone that you know that likes a good story. Especially consider sharing this episode with anyone that you know that is struggling with anxiety and burnout. It just might help to know that you aren’t the only person out there with these feelings.
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Everyone has a story. I strongly feel that “stories have power”. Chances are that if you are going through something, that someone else probably has as well. The shared experiences we humans have can help each other. That my friend makes the point that stories “help us understand each other.”
You don’t have to agree with everyone, but in my opinion, if people would take more time getting to knowing more about others and where they are coming from, we just might find out that we have more similarities than differences.
Jessop’s Journal is something special when it comes to broadcast news. I have the honor of being able to do longer in-depth interviews that you don’t normally see with people from all walks of life. A big shout out goes to my collaborator, Ed Wilets, who does a great job as my videographer/editor for all my stories. Your feedback is always welcome at DJessop@abc4.com
It’s my honor to be able to share, Jessop’s Journal, a 30-minute collection of Powerful, Positive and Inspirational Stories every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on ABC4 to all of Utah along with parts of Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona. Jessop’s Journal is also available worldwide at JessopsJournal.com.
With another entry into Jessop’s Journal, I’m Doug Jessop.
Jessop’s Journal is a copyrighted production of Fedora Incorporated and made possible by the generous support of XLEAR, Tatt2Away, Millcreek Gardens and LIFE Never Boring.
