Walks with Asha

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Reflections, insights and observations about life Inspired by walking with a dog named Asha. Written and narrated by Marilyn Webster. Produced by Josh Packard.

Marilyn Webster


    • May 12, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 4m AVG DURATION
    • 33 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Walks with Asha

    Why I was late

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 1:22


    82

    Prescription

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2025 1:46


    A gathering of shiny acorns

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2025 0:57


    Untitled (after reading Atticus)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 1:00


    Ice-crusted snow

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 1:06


    The taste of snow

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 1:15


    Old question, new answer

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 1:09


    The luminous middle

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 0:59


    Breadcrumbs

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 1:36


    A wayfinder's tale

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2024 7:11


    I made a map that tells a story – about where I've walked (and about getting to know wooded paths and trusting how I find my own way).

    Eulogy

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 7:56


    When I failed to act on my desire to hold a ceremony for a beloved tree, I wrote this letter.

    Tenderness of new beginnings

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2023 6:37


    Listening to the whispered wisdom from leaves of an unfamiliar shrub encourage me to meet myself with tenderness as I explore the next iteration of my work.

    Walking through doubt

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 6:08


    Two walks, two months, one place: When doubt, grief and anger became a key that unlocked wonder. 

    Lying On A Frozen Pond

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2022 7:13


    Lying on a frozen pond, trusting the ice will hold me, feels akin to the decision-making  that took me away from the solid ground of the familiar.

    Mary Oliver at the beaver meadow

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2021 6:06


    “Norma,” my inner critic, visited while I lingered at the beaver meadow. Mary Oliver's poetry helped me reclaim my enoughness.

    When 'heart' becomes a verb

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2021 6:30


    How journaling the phrase “headed into the woods” turned “heart” into a verb. (And what happened next.)

    Cocoons and liberation

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2021 7:26


    Finding a Northern Casemaker Caddisfly larva in a beaver pond started me thinking about my own portable cocoon.

    Geese and indigo: Thoughts on wonder

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2021 5:35


    Walking by the beaver pond with Asha, expecting to see Canada Geese but finding the pond empty of birds, prompted me to consider wonder, both noun and verb. 

    While looking for birch seeds

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2021 6:06


    What I found while crunching through the snow searching for birch seeds.

    Respecting No

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2020 5:35


    Stepping into the fog

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2020 4:23


    I recently made a decision that has me feeling like I’m venturing from the warm comfort of the known into the fog. When I start to get lost in the questions and unknowns, I think about that foggy morning and remember that whenever I looked too far ahead, the road was soupy. I pull my gaze back to the present, to what I do know and let go of the desire to figure everything out. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com/stories.

    Considering delight

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2020 6:37


    I miss what was

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 4:12


    I was drawn to the familiar wooden bridge in the clearing today because beavers are building a dam under this bridge. With the resulting changes to the landscape, this spot feels like a microcosm for the world which is changing so rapidly. More than any other place along the trails Asha and I walk regularly, this pond-in-progress invites me to be with my emotions about the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com/stories

    Leaning into beauty

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2020 4:38


    One of the more tender messages I’ve received is about how those who aren’t able to get outdoors miss feeling connected with nature. My hope is that this story offers a way for you to come along on my walks with Asha … to stand in a clearing, hear the water and feel the touch of early spring snowflakes. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com/stories

    "Hello, Black Birch"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2020 6:42


    One afternoon in early August, Asha and I paused during our walk, by the side of the road, to listen. It was raining acorns. “Is this normal? A sign of climate change?” I wondered, because it seemed like too many acorns too early in the year. As I looked up into the overlapping branches of the canopy, trying to determine which trees were oaks, I became aware of how much I don’t know about these woods in which I walk every day. My curiosity started me on a path to learn more, starting with trees. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com/stories

    Damn mosquitos

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2020 3:53


    It is a humid day and I have spent our walk waving my arms to keep the mosquitos, blackflies, deerflies and gnats away with some success, but their buzzing, whining, whirring have chipped away at my spirit. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com/stories.

    Approach, retreat, bark

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2020 3:56


    Asha does an approach-retreat-bark dance when she’s startled by something. I usually laugh and let her take her time to explore whatever it is. Turtles crossing the road. A large ball of snow. A stack of balanced rocks in the middle of the trail that wasn’t there the day before. I love the physicality of her natural instincts because I get to see what’s going on. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com.

    The art of walking

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2019 5:50


    One summer morning Asha and I walked along a new-to-us trail that I’d been eyeing for some time. I wondered if it would bring us to the bridge over gentle waters from a different direction. It did. And it took us past a serene beaver pond. Yet I returned home feeling unsatisfied, an experience which made me wonder what makes for a satisfying walk. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com.

    Beyond the rickety bridge

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 4:12


    I like looking at an occasional trail map to figure out where I’ve been or to discover other possibilities, especially satisfying loops. But I’ve come to see that while I might want a map, sometimes I’m better off without one. You can read this story at walkswithasha.com/stories.

    Daring to rest

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2019 3:59


    Everything about today – the sunshine, the quality of light, the temperature a pleasant 47°, the forecast of snow later in the week – says, “Slow down. Linger.” Read the full story at walkswithasha.com

    Holding on and letting go

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2019 4:08


    Discerning when not to give up and when to let go is hard. Sometimes the going gets tough and I want to give up, yet it’s important to persevere. Other times I keep trying, keep tweaking, keep showing up, yet it’s time to let go and make room for something else. Read the full story at walkswithasha.com

    Don't let the bears get in the way

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2019 4:03


    There have been times in my life when the "bears" have stopped me from doing what I felt called to do. … Click here to read the story online.

    Drift

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2019 3:11


    The image of the stick drifting to the edge of the stream offers me comfort. It reminds me that waiting is not the same as doing nothing. ... Click here to read the story online.

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