It’s probably best to get my bias out of the way at the top and say that Paula Faris is one of my favorite journalists. Realistically, everyone at ABC News is my favorite, but Paula is also nice enough to notice me on social media most of the time I have something to say to her. And if you’ve read Twitter Magic, you know that this means a lot to me.
Anyway, she was on last week’s episode of her friend and colleague Dan Harris’s podcast talking about her new podcast, “Journeys of Faith,” where she interviews pretty much anybody and everybody who happens to be famous about their faith and what it means to them. Not being particularly religious – I’d call myself a lapsed Catholic at best – I honestly was kind of skeptical about whether I would like the podcast or not. But I was willing to give it a chance because it’s Paula Faris.
It’s not simply a podcast about faith and religion though. That would be selling it short. It’s about why people believe what they believe. In her interview with Dan – which was laugh out loud funny by the way, they’re obviously close friends – Paula argued that faith shouldn’t just be something you get from your parents. This assertion really hit home for me because it feels like the phase of life I’m in right now. Trying to figure out who I am as an individual independent of my family. If we don’t know why we believe something, what’s the point?
This episode also really got me thinking about journalism. Not that I didn’t know what I would potentially be getting myself into or anything, but Paula talked about how the demands of her job affected her personal life. It was interesting; I’d never really thought about that sort of thing before. I’ve always focused on whether I’m capable of doing the job or not.
Which is fair, I guess. I don’t have much of a personal life to speak of at the moment. But it definitely gave me some food for thought about how I can balance journalism – if and when I break into the business – and my life outside of work. So, I guess the main thing I have to say about this episode of 10% Happier is thanks for getting me thinking.