Lou Mei & Dr. Bruce Martin

We are bouncing with excitement to share our latest episode featuring Lou Mei Gutsch - a master's student whose story is so uplifting, it should come with a happiness warning label! 

Why This Episode Will Make Your Week: 

🥀 The "Winter Rose" Origin Story: Adopted from China as "Mei Fan" (beautiful winter-blooming rose), Lou Mei's name perfectly captures her ability to bring beauty and life to any situation. 

🎒 Academic Overachiever Alert: When her wilderness literature professor asked students to choose ONE Mary Oliver poem, guess how many Lou Mei selected? EIGHT. Because when you love learning, why limit yourself? 

⛄ The Snow Dance Tradition: Every first snowfall, Lou Mei and her sister step outside to do their annual snow dance. Can you imagine anything more pure and joyful? 

🍚 Dreams of Rice Paddies: Her goal to return to China and work in rice paddies to connect with her heritage is both beautiful and inspiring. 

The Quote That Made Us Cry Happy Tears: "I feel so thankful and grateful to have such wonderful parents who are loving and supportive and inspiring too... they just spread nothing but love and good vibes to everybody."

 Plus, Don't Miss: A surprise testimonial from her professor Dr. Bruce Martin that will make you believe in the power of education Her parents Rebecca and Ken sharing the adoption journey with incredible warmth Lou Mei's wisdom on healing through nature and choosing positive relationships A beautiful Mary Oliver poem about first snow that perfectly captures the magic of new beginnings

Why You Need This Episode Right Now: In a time when it's easy to focus on what's wrong with the world, Lou Mei's story is a masterclass in choosing joy, embracing resilience, and surrounding yourself with love. Her infectious positivity isn't toxic optimism - it's earned wisdom from someone who has faced real challenges and chosen to bloom anyway. 

Creative Content: Poem selected and read by Dr. Bruce Martin  

First Snow by Mary Oliver 

The snow
 began here
 this morning and all day
 continued, its white
 rhetoric everywhere
 calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.
The silence
is immense,
and the heavens still hold
a million candles, nowhere
the familiar things:
stars, the moon,
the darkness we expect
and nightly turn from. Trees
glitter like castles
of ribbons, the broad fields
smolder with light, a passing
creek bed lies
heaped with shining hills;
and though the questions
that have assailed us all day
remain — not a single
answer has been found –
walking out now
into the silence and the light
under the trees,
and through the fields,
feels like one.

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