My dear friend Mara Glatzel is back on the podcast, and this time we dive deep into community care, building (local) friendships and connections in midlife and navigating conflict and negative feedback in those spaces, as well as how we build resilient social skills for now and the future.
Mara is very active in her local community and talks passionately about her involvement in local politics, navigating people who may think differently, and what it’s like to truly be of service in your local community without forgetting about your own needs. We talk about building a level of self trust, managing overwhelm in being of service, as well as a sense of enoughness – especially in low-capacity seasons in life. We also discuss what it’s like to build new, local friendships and a sense of community, how this may require courage and patience, and how to make sure you don’t censor yourself in the process – even if it triggers rupture or conflict.
Mara invites us all to not only become more involved in our local communities, but to do it in our own way, at our own level of capacity, and for that to ultimately also inspire our sense of satisfiability: because if you’re asking yourself whether you’re doing enough, you most likely are.
Resources + Links
- Find Mara Glatzel and her work here:
- Previous episodes of the Belonging podcast with Mara:
- We also mention Carmen Spagnola’s work
- Join the Circle Craft open house on November 5th 2026
- Subscribe to my newsletter
- My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self
- Connect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelli
Timestamps
[0:00] Introduction
[09:06] What do we need to be well, and how can we organise ourselves around that?
[13:45] Overwhelm, enoughness and commitment within community care
[25:30] Cultivating friendship and self trust in midlife
[35:52] Friendships as the bedrock of community resources
[42:47] Uniting people amidst disagreement and conflict
[49:22] Embracing self trust in navigating negative feedback
[56:41] Satisfiability and enoughness are an inside job
[1:05:51] The to-do list makeover workshop