The Whole Again Podcast: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kinstugi Wisdom airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Pause Breathe Reflect Microdose Meditations, Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Tips, Transformation our scars into healing and resilience, and a new series from May to August called A Perfectly Imperfect Union.

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What if the way you share the road reflects how you show up in life?

Whether you’re behind the wheel or on two wheels, every moment on the road is a chance to practice awareness, patience, and empathy. In a fast-moving world where we often rush past one another, this episode uses cycling as a powerful metaphor to explore how slowing down and truly seeing others can transform not just our commutes—but our connections.

• Discover how everyday moments—like driving or cycling—can become opportunities for mindfulness and connection
• Learn simple ways to create safer, more respectful interactions through empathy and shared responsibility
• Gain a fresh perspective on how “giving space” can improve both your relationships and your well-being

Press play now to rethink how you move through the world—and start showing up with more awareness, patience, and care.

Discover more about National Bike Month.

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With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Mindfulness and Resilience through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore mindfulness and resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome PTSD, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on building resilience, fitness, and stress management, as well as mindfulness practices and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools such as breathwork, micro-dose meditation, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress reduction. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embodies healing as a transformative process, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and overwhelm to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and

 Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Hole Again, the show that's here in support of the person you're becoming. And welcome to May, everyone. For all the Star Wars fans out there, since it's May 6th and we passed May 4th, May the 4th, be with you. But May isn't just for Star Wars fans, no. May is National Egg Month, Salsa Month, Strawberry Month, it's National Blood Pressure Month, it's also Mental Health Awareness Month, Older America Month.

The list goes on and on, but it is also National Bicycling Month. Yep. How cool is that? A whole month for bikes. And I'm recording this a few hours after participating in New York City's five borough bike ride. The bikes own the street one day a year. But while we didn't have to share the roads with the cars in New York City, we did have to share the streets with our fellow cyclists and over 40,000 people participated.

So riding with a whole bunch of cyclists with different abilities all on different bikes, that can also be, well, it can be a moment, but it's a great vibe. It's a beautiful way to see the city and people are happy. Now, whether you haven't touched your bike since you were 10 years old or you're one of the mammals, M-A-M-I-L, middle-aged men in Lycra, riding your local streets.

Either way, this episode's for you, my friend, because it has less to do with bikes and more to do with how we move throughout the world. Please let me share more. Now, the bike is a rather cool invention. And you might not know this fun fact. We can thank cyclists for paved roads. Yep, that's right. Cyclists back in the day wanted the roads paved because they were getting all rutted out by carriages and horses and all that.

So if you like smooth asphalt, you can thank a cyclist. Plus, cycling is zero emissions. It's even better than your EV if you happen to own an EV. And for so many of us, it's a way to feel connected with nature. You can even do a mindful bike ride and really just feel the medicine that movement is. The thing is, is that we see the world differently when we slow down than when we speed by it.

We catch more of all the life that's around us. I like to think that cycling is life because we do it outside in the elements and it can feel a little vulnerable, as does life. After all, what do we have to protect ourselves when we're riding? A thin layer of Lycra and a plastic and styrofoam helmet.

That's it. So it's probably no surprise that the number one reason people give for not riding their bike more is safety, according to the American League of Bicyclists. And I get it, that anxiety, that feeling of not feeling safe, which doesn't lead to trust, can be a real barrier. And if you know my story, then you know that I know a thing or two about bike safety and what can happen when we don't share the road.

So this month, as we celebrate the bicycle, it's also about acknowledging that our streets are shared ecosystems. I'm sure you've seen the road sign share the road, and I think we all sort of intuitively know what that means, but what does it actually look like in practice? As a driver, and I'm also a driver, besides being a cyclist, in fact, I drive more miles a year than I ride my bike.

But being a driver is remembering that a cyclist is not an obstacle. That person, that human who's peddling away is someone's neighbor, someone's mom or dad, someone's spouse, someone's son or daughter, a friend, a colleague. To be aware of the cyclists around us is to acknowledge our shared humanity and give them space and slow down a bit.

In fact, most states, except for I think Texas, New York, and South Carolina, have a law that says when you overtake or pass a cyclist, you need to give them three or more feet. Whether we're cyclists or drivers or both, I think we can all do something good by giving each other some space. We all need that from time to time.

Now, as a cyclist and to all my cycling friends, we also have to be responsible. We should be visible. We shouldn't hog the road. We should have lights and use hand signals and give drivers some type of predictability because it's nerve-wracking to pass a cyclist, especially when that cyclist is taking up more than their fair share or riding in a way that doesn't feel predictable.

I ride by this mantra, same roads, same rules. So when we follow the rules, we create a safer ecosystem. And for everyone, this is about empathy. This is about, "Hey, I see you. " When we're in a car, we're in a steel box, and some of those boxes are bigger than others. When we're on a bike, we're vulnerable. It's some carbon fiber or titanium or steel.

What is it weigh, like 20 pounds? There's nothing really protecting us. There's a pack that goes that we trust each other as we share the ecosystem. So sharing the road isn't just a legal requirement. It's a social contract. It is saying, "I see you, I hear you, and I want you to get home safely because there is someone at your home or nearby that loves you.

And when we do that, we find a way to connect. Going back to our Kansoki, finding a way to connect and feel whole again. So during the month of May, I'll encourage you to participate in National Bike Month. If you have a short trip to the grocery store to pick up eggs, salsa, or strawberries, you can ride your bike instead of driving.

If you don't like to ride a bike and you're a motorist, you can simply do a better job than you did last month, paying attention and giving cyclists some space, especially considering that many people will bike to school this month and bike to work. So the goal of National Bike Month is to have more people on their bike so the streets will get more crowded, if you will, with cyclists.

And as a cyclist, one way to participate, besides riding your bike a lot this month, is to follow the rules of the road. Be a good cycling ambassador. Everyone's trying to get somewhere, and we're all trying to do it as safely as possible, whether we're drivers or cyclists. They say that we learn how to share in kindergarten, but gosh, I hope we learn it well before kindergarten.

Some things start at home. And when we think about the world that we live in today, I think we could do a better job sharing in general to give each other space and grace. And I think that would go a long way in helping us feel whole again on our way to the person that we're becoming and wherever we all happen to be traveling to, whether we're driving a car or a truck, a motorcycle, or riding a bicycle, let's remember that the best journeys are the safest ones.

So keep pedaling, my friends, this May and beyond. Movement is medicine, so I hope you get out on your bike and feel the medicine known as cycling.

And as always, thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. And if you'd like to share this with a fellow driver or a fellow cyclist, I hope you will. It's always good to have more members in our Peloton, because together we go far. And stay tuned for our next episode of our new series, A Perfectly Imperfect Union.

As I talk to people, real folk across America, on their reflections as America turns 250. We have a new conversation tomorrow, and if you'd like to participate, drop me a line. I would love to connect with you. And until then, let's remember to celebrate our scars as golden symbols of our strength and resilience, and don't forget to have fun.

Storm in the castle.

And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, michaelobrienshift.com, and sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect. And join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at hole again and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient, and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.

Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this, and we've got you.