Let’s Talk About the Scars We Carry

Twisted Grain

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com [https://rakiaari.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Peace and blessings, family. Welcome to Soundtracks of Wisdom: The Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine. I’m your host, Rakia Ari, broadcasting straight from the studio where the rhythms are heavy, the vibe is analog, and the lessons are eternal. Every single culture across this beautiful planet carries a map hidden within its words—proverbs passed down from ancestors meant to guide us through our modern storms.

The Rings of the Msasa

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rakiaari.substack.com [https://rakiaari.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Hey there, family. Welcome back. Pull your chair a little closer to the circle, slide your feet a bit nearer to the hearth, and just let the busy, demanding noise of the outside world fade away into the background for a little while. We’ve had a fast-paced week, haven’t we? So much pulling at our attention, so many roles to play, so many expectations to meet. But right here, in this circle, none of that matters. You don’t have to explain yourself. You don’t have to perform. You just get to rest in the warmth of this space. Today, we are doing something very special, and very sacred. We are stepping out of our usual analytical conversations and wrapping ourselves in the ancient medicine of a story. It’s a story born from the rich, red clay hills of Masvingo, shaped by the massive, protective branches of a great Msasa tree, and deeply rooted in a piece of ancestral Shona and Malagasy wisdom you’ve heard us sit with quite a bit this week: “The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.” I want you to think about those words as we prepare to listen. If you’ve ever carried an invisible, heavy wound that the world carelessly told you to “just let go of” or “forgive and forget”... if you’ve ever had to do the silent, exhausting, somatic work of growing around a deep scar while the person who hurt you moved on entirely untouched, with a clean conscience... this story is a mirror for your survival. It is a quiet validation of your stubborn, beautiful resilience. And at the very same time, if you’ve ever had to face the uncomfortable, quiet mirror of your own history—realizing that you, too, are capable of holding the axe, and that you have sometimes walked away from the damage you caused because it was simply easier for you to forget... this story is a gentle, brave invitation. It’s an invitation to step out of defense, step into the grove, and embrace a deeper, more courageous kind of accountability. So, before the dust of the road rises, let’s take one deep, grounding, collective breath together. Inhale the cool, clean air... let it fill your chest, widening your ribs... and exhale fully, letting your shoulders drop away from your ears. Let the earth support your weight. Now, if it is safe to do so, close your eyes. Let’s travel together across the miles and across the years, to a land of golden dust, dry grass, and whispering red leaves. This is “The Rings of the Msasa.”

Let’s Talk About the Scars We Carry

Hey there, family. Pull up a heavy oak chair, slide closer to the hearth, grab your favorite warm mug, and let yourself settle in. Welcome back to Wednesday’s Chat Room—our weekly, mid-week sanctuary where we gather to take the quiet, solitary reflections from Sunday’s Mental Health Check-In and bring them into a warm, shared circle. If you look closely at our chat room graphic above, you can feel the exact atmosphere we are trying to cultivate today. We’ve gathered in our favorite cozy, gothic study—a safe, timeless space surrounded by towering bookshelves of ancient wisdom, gentle stone gargoyles keeping watch over the doorways, the soft, flickering glow of candlelight, and a grand clock ticking softly in the background to remind us that we are allowed to operate outside of the world’s frantic pace. Look at the table we’ve set for you. Whether you are holding a hot, steaming coffee like our wise elder statesman on the left, prepared to speak truth into the vintage microphone, typing out your thoughts on your laptop, or simply gazing into our glowing “chat” crystal ball to read the beautiful, vulnerable words of the community—you have a dedicated, permanent seat at this table. You do not need to earn your place here, and you do not need to wear a mask. This week, we are opening the floor to talk about a concept that struck a deeply resonant chord with so many of you this past Sunday: “The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.” Why We’re Gathering Today: From Solitude to the Grove On Sunday, we explored the painful, unequal asymmetry of relational trauma—how the “axes” in our lives can carelessly strike us, wipe themselves clean, and easily move on to the next task, completely forgetting the damage they left behind. Meanwhile, we, as the “trees,” are left to absorb the shockwave, biologically and emotionally altering our entire structure to compartmentalize the gash and continue growing around it. We discussed the science of tree healing, the somatic reality of carrying scars, and the toxic, societal pressure to “forgive and forget” before our nervous systems have even registered actual physical or emotional safety. Sunday’s check-in was designed for quiet, deeply personal introspection. It was a space to look inward, recognize your own growth rings, and hold tender space for your private wounds. But Wednesday? Wednesday is for the grove. In nature, a tree that stands entirely alone on a barren hill is highly vulnerable. When the heavy storm winds howl, a lone tree must bear the entire force of the gale on its own trunk; if its roots aren’t incredibly deep, or if its wood is weakened by an old axe scar, it risks being snapped in half. But in a dense forest, trees stand in a supportive grove. Their branches interlock to break the wind. Beneath the soil, their roots wrap around one another in a tight, unbreakable embrace. And most beautifully, they are connected by a massive, underground mycelial network—a living system of fungal threads that allows them to share nutrients, send warning signals, and literally pump life support to the trees in the forest that are wounded, weak, or struggling. That is what this Chat Room is. It is our underground mycelial network activating mid-week. When the emotional winds of life get too loud, we gather here to share the weight of our trunks, lean on one another’s deep roots, and remind ourselves that we do not have to stand tall all by ourselves. Sharing our stories isn’t about wallowing; it is about witnessing. When we witness each other’s scars, we take away the shame of the wound. 💬 Today’s Live Chat Prompts The Substack Chat Room is officially open, the candles are lit, and our digital crystal ball is glowing with anticipation! We want to hear your voice, your story, and your perspective. When you jump into the thread today, don’t worry about sounding perfectly polished. Just speak from the heart. Feel free to answer one, two, or all of these prompts: 1. The Anatomy of Your Scar 🪵 In Sunday’s newsletter, we talked about how trees “compartmentalize” their wounds—walling off the decay so they can keep growing around it. * If your current emotional or relational healing journey had a physical shape, what would it look like right now? * Are you in the active, tender stage of trying to wall off a fresh blow? Or are you looking back at an old, gnarled scar, realizing with quiet pride just how many beautiful, strong rings of new wood you’ve managed to grow around it? 2. Challenging the “Forgive and Forget” Narrative 🚫 We’ve all experienced the frustration of being rushed to heal. Whether it’s a family member wanting to “sweep things under the rug” at Sunday dinner, a friend telling you to “just move on,” or your own inner critic demanding that you stop being so sensitive. * How have you protected your boundaries when others have tried to rush your healing timeline? * What does it look like for you to honor your nervous system’s need for time, space, and safety before you offer reconciliation? 3. Activating Your Mycelial Network 🌲 No tree survives the winter alone. We need our grove. * Who or what makes up your underground support network? Is it a therapist, a trusted friend, a creative outlet, a pet, or a community space like this one? * How do you practice giving and receiving mutual support when the storm winds of life start blowing a little too hard? 🛡️ Creating a Safe Forest: A Note on Vulnerability If you are reading this and feeling a little bit of anxiety about sharing your story, please take a deep breath and know that you are not alone in that feeling. Sharing our wounds is terrifying. We often worry that our struggles aren’t “bad enough” to talk about, or that we will burden others with our pain. But we want to remind you of a simple truth: every ring of growth matters. Your story might be the exact lifeline another member of our community needs to read today to realize they aren’t crazy, they aren’t oversensitive, and they aren’t alone. Our chat room is a strictly “no-axe” zone. We protect this space fiercely. There is no judgment here, no unsolicited advice-giving, and no minimization of your lived experience. We are here simply to bear witness, to say “I see you,” and to stand together in the quiet sanctuary of the grove. 🚀 How to Step into the Room Joining the conversation is incredibly simple. Let’s make this mid-week check-in a restorative, life-giving habit for your mental health: * Open the Substack App on your phone (or log in on your desktop at substack.com). * Tap the Chat icon in the bottom navigation bar (it looks like two overlapping speech bubbles). * Find and select the Akua Projects’ Podcast Magazine channel. * Jump directly into the Wednesday’s Chat Room thread, drop a friendly hello, and share whatever is on your heart today. The table is set, the elder has poured the coffee, the laptops are open, and the candles are burning bright. We have saved a seat just for you, and we cannot wait to sit with you. See you in the chat! With love, deep roots, and mycelial magic, The Akua Projects Team 🤍 The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe [https://rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Quote of the Day — Revisited From the Archives: July 8, 2021

“Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night.” > — Marian Wright Edelman The Reflection Welcome back to the Short Story Corner & Wisdom Archives. Today, we are opening up the vault and traveling back to July 8, 2021. Five years ago, we highlighted a heavy-hitting truth from activist and children’s advocate Marian Wright Edelman. Looking at it today, in a world that constantly tells us to hustle harder, grind longer, and chase the next rung on the ladder, her words hit even closer to the bone. “Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night.” Let’s be real for a second—we all have bills to pay. There is no shame in wanting financial security or the agency that comes with professional success. But Edelman isn’t talking about survival; she’s talking about intent. She’s warning us about the trap of making money and power our sole North Star. When you strip away the titles, the accolades, and the bank accounts, what are you left with when the lights go out? The Deep Dive: What Keeps You Awake? Think about the last time you had a sleepless night. Was it because your bank account didn’t hit a specific metric, or was it because of a heavier, internal weight? Usually, tossing and turning comes from a misalignment of the spirit—worrying about a loved one, feeling a lack of purpose, or knowing that the work you spent all day doing didn’t actually feed your soul. Money can buy a luxury mattress, but it has never bought peace of mind. Power can control a room, but it can’t quiet a restless conscience. When we revisit this quote from 2021, we have to ask ourselves: What has changed in how we define success over the last few years? Hopefully, we’ve learned to weave a bit more intention into our daily threads. True wealth is found in the richness of our relationships, the art we bring into the world, the wisdom we pass down, and the quiet comfort of a clean heart at the end of the day. Unpacking the Wisdom * The Illusion of Security: Money and power offer a fragile armor. They shield us from certain systemic discomforts, but they are utterly useless against existential dread or spiritual emptiness. * The Soul’s Currency: Purpose, creativity, and community are the true currencies of a life well-lived. When you invest your labor into things that lift others up or express your authentic truth, your soul reaps the dividends. * The Sleep Test: If your daily grind requires you to compromise your peace, your ethics, or your joy, the price of admission is simply too high. Over to You As you navigate your week, take a look at where you are directing your energy. Are you building a life that looks good on paper, or one that actually feels good to live in? Let Edelman’s words be a gentle course correction if you’ve strayed too far into the hustle. Work for impact, work for expression, work for the love of the craft—and let the rest follow. What does a “wealthy soul” look like to you in 2026? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, or voice your reflections in our Sunday Mental Health Check-In community space. Until next time, keep weaving your unique thread, protect your peace, and rest easy tonight. The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe [https://rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Whispers, Words, and Warmth: Why the Ultimate Date Might Just Be Someone Reading Aloud to You

Hey there, Akua Projects family! Grab your favorite cozy drink, pull up a comfortable, overstuffed chair, and let’s take a beautiful, unhurried stroll down memory lane. If you’ve been following our cover art lately, you might have spotted our signature claymation-style explorer wandering through those gorgeous, lantern-lit cobblestone streets. There’s something so quiet, nostalgic, and deeply peaceful about that scene. It feels like a world operating at a gentler tempo—the kind of place where the frantic, high-frequency noise of modern life simply drifts away, leaving plenty of room for real, uninterrupted, soul-to-soul connection. And that imagery brings us perfectly to today’s revisit. Lately, we’ve been diving back into our podcast archives to pull out some of the most unique, deeply human stories from our My Favorite Dates series. Today, we are highlighting a wonderfully personal, quiet submission that completely stole our hearts when it first aired. It is centered around a concept that many of us experience without ever knowing there was a formal word for it: Acousticophilia. What Exactly is Acousticophilia? To break it down, acousticophilia (derived from the Greek words for “sound” and “love” or “affinity”) is the love of sounds. In interpersonal relationships, it refers to finding deep comfort, emotional intimacy, safety, and even attraction in the unique qualities of the human voice. Think of it as an “auditory fingerprint.” Just as no two people look exactly alike, no two voices carry the same warmth, cadence, depth, or vibration. In a world that has become hyper-visual—where dating apps encourage us to make split-second, swipe-left or swipe-right decisions based on highly curated, filtered photos—our contributor’s submission serves as a beautiful reminder of a different, more ancient pathway to human connection. Rakia Ari wrote: “This is a more personal submission. My favorite type of intimacy during a date is listening. I especially love listening to someone read aloud. The right voice can say the ABC’s and keep my attention, lol.” Let’s be honest: how incredibly sweet, grounding, and deeply relatable is that? In a sea of noisy bar dates and endless small talk, there is something profoundly magnetic about simply sitting back and letting someone’s voice wash over you. The Science Behind Why We Fall for Voices It turns out our contributor is onto something backed by evolutionary biology and neuroscience. Our brains are hardwired to respond to vocal cues on a deeply emotional level. * The Direct Route to the Heart: Unlike visual processing, which goes through several complex analytical stages in the brain, auditory input—especially the human voice—has a direct, lightning-fast pathway to the amygdala and the limbic system. This is the oldest, most instinctual part of our brain, responsible for processing emotions, memory, and survival instincts. This is why a sudden, harsh voice can trigger instant anxiety, while a soft, melodious tone can immediately lower your heart rate. * The Oxytocin Effect: When we listen to a soothing, familiar, or attractive voice, our brains release oxytocin—often called the “bonding hormone” or the “cuddle chemical.” This hormone promotes feelings of trust, security, and psychological safety. * Paralanguage is the Real Language: We often focus so much on what we say, but human connection thrives on how we say it. Linguists call this “paralanguage”—the pitch, timber, speed, breathiness, and volume of our speech. When someone reads aloud to you, you aren’t just processing the plot of a story; you are bathing in their paralanguage. You are discovering their pauses, the subtle way their pitch rises when they are excited, and the quiet, raspy texture of their voice when they are relaxed. The Intimacy of the Read-Aloud Date Shared reading is a practice that dates back to the very dawn of human civilization, long before printed pages existed, when our ancestors gathered around fires to pass down oral histories. Yet, as adults, we rarely experience it. For most of us, the last time someone sat down, opened a book, and read to us was in early childhood. Because of this, being read to carries a powerful, comforting psychological association with safety, care, and absolute sanctuary. Bringing that element into adult dating is a complete game-changer. Here is why a “listening date” can foster a depth of connection that dinner and a movie simply cannot touch: 1. It Demands Radical Presence In our digital age, attention is the rarest currency. When you are sitting across from someone who is actively reading to you, the temptation to scroll through your phone, check notifications, or mentally plan your next sentence vanishes. You are forced to slow down your breathing, tune your senses, and truly exist in the exact same micro-moment. It turns out that listening is not a passive act; it is an active, generous gift of presence. 2. The Power of Vulnerability and Imperfection Reading aloud can feel surprisingly intimidating. It requires putting your vocal instrument on display. When your date stumbles over a tricky word, pauses to laugh at a goofy sentence, or attempts a terrible, dramatic accent for a character, they are showing you their unpolished, genuine self. These tiny, unscripted moments of vulnerability are precisely where the genuine sparks of attraction are born. 3. An Antidote to “Interview-Style” Dating Fatigue We’ve all been on those first or second dates that feel more like a job interview than a romantic encounter. What do you do for work? Where do you see yourself in five years? How many siblings do you have? An acoustic-focused date completely bypasses this script. By focusing on a shared piece of text, you naturally segue into talking about abstract ideas, philosophical questions, or emotional reactions. It gives you a structured, low-pressure window into how your partner thinks, feels, and views the world. How to Curate Your Own Acoustic Date Night If you want to weave some of these cozy, acousticophilia-inspired vibes into your next date night, you don’t need a grand gesture. You just need a quiet space and a willingness to listen. Here are four highly curated, sensory-rich ideas to get you started: * The Dusty Bookshop Treasure Hunt: Head to a local independent or used bookstore together. Give yourselves twenty minutes to search the shelves independently. Your mission? Find a book that contains a passage, a poem, or even a bizarre paragraph that reminds you of each other, or simply something you find beautiful. Find a quiet, sunlit corner or head to a nearby coffee shop, and take turns reading your discoveries aloud. * The Backyard Audio-Sanctuary: On a clear, warm evening, lay out a thick blanket in your backyard, patio, or living room floor. Surround yourselves with pillows, light a few candles, and queue up a beautifully narrated audiobook (think lush fantasy, historical fiction, or descriptive nature essays). Lie side-by-side, close your eyes, and let the narrator build a world in your minds simultaneously. * The Letters & Lore Exchange: This is for couples looking to deepen an established connection. Write down a short, favorite memory from your childhood, a letter to your younger self, or a description of a place that made you feel safe growing up. Sit close together in a softly lit room and read your stories to one another. Hearing the vulnerability in your partner’s voice as they describe their history is an incredibly moving experience. * The Culinary Soundscape: Turn dinner prep into an acoustic experience. While one partner is busy chopping, stirring, and tasting, the other partner’s job is to sit nearby and read aloud from sensory-rich food essays (like the timeless writings of M.F.K. Fisher), a beautifully descriptive travel blog, or even a dramatic, historic recipe. It turns the kitchen into a lively, multi-sensory theater of sound, smell, and taste. Over to You! The My Favorite Dates series has always been about celebrating the quiet, unconventional, and profoundly simple ways we find love. Acousticophilia reminds us that in a world constantly shouting for our visual attention, sometimes the most romantic thing we can do is simply quiet down, close our eyes, and listen. We want to hear from our wonderful community: What does your perfect vocal date sound like? Do you have a favorite book, poem, or story you’ve always dreamed of someone reading to you? Whose voice holds a special place in your heart? Let us know in the comments below, or better yet, call into our podcast reader line and leave us a voice message to share your story with us. Until next time, keep exploring, keep connecting, and don’t forget to listen closely to the whispers along the way. Written by the Editorial Team at The Akua Projects The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading The Akua Projects' Podcast Magazine! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe [https://rakiaari.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]