S17 Ep222: 222: Interview: Elijah B. Wilder ~ Puns, Dad Jokes, Shadows & the Magic in Goldfish!
PSYCHOPOMP: pluralpsychopomps or psychopompoi : a conductor of souls to the afterworld. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope you had a lovely and restful end to your year-and are looking forward to what is coming for you in 2025! I wanted to start the year off with a sweet episode with my friend Elijah B. Wilder-who is, among many things, author, philosopher, funny guy, pun-master and self-effacing ramen lover! He also, at a young age, was gifted an event that helped him to realize that psychopomps are real, even goldfish can be angels, and that all life around us is sacred! His story is simple, profound and magically beautiful! We talk Japan (in the Easter Egg at the end), we talk the beauty of Japanese shadows...and we talk Death, with a capital "D"...not to be confused with the other "D" word, Dill Pickle! I wanted to start the year with a simple and sweet tale, a gentle reminder that all is sacred and all is sentient...and mostly, that every living thing has a soul...and can be a psychopomp when needed. Here's to a rowdy and raucous 2025, and here's to all of our dreams coming true! To read a bit more about Elijah and his book, HEREAFTER LIES: RIP, click here! Your bit of beauty is this, a better explanation that I ever could create-a little bit more about the Japanese relationship with shadows. I, for one, feel like that is where everything is born, in the shadows...germinating, and just waiting, for the perfect time to emerge! xo