What does grief teach us about how to live, lead, and love? What happens when the work we do in the world meets what we’re carrying inside?

In this episode, host Nina Rodriguez sits down with development practitioner, global thought leader, and poet Carl Manlan, author of i can breathe, for a moving conversation on grief, legacy, resilience, and meaning.

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Video available here

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Carl reflects on how loss reshaped his understanding of resilience, leadership, and what it means to honor those who came before us, and the grief that arises from life changes, transitions, and the unexpected losses that quietly reshape our lives. His poetry became a necessary language for grief, a way to express what policy, strategy, and everyday conversation often cannot.

Nina and Carl explore grief as an experience rooted in love, memory, and connection. They discuss how creativity and poetry can support healing, how personal loss deepens our capacity for service and leadership, and how parental and intergenerational influence continues to shape the way we show up for ourselves and our children.

This episode is a gentle reminder that grief is not just sorrow. It's also about legacy, memory, and the courage to keep breathing. Carl’s poems chart the path between losing and learning to live with loss, offering honesty, tenderness, and the wisdom of someone who has walked this path.

This conversation explores:

• Why “you only grieve what you love”
• Poetry and creativity as vessels for grief
• The connection between loss and leadership
• How upbringing and parental influence shape resilience and service
• Finding joy, gratitude, and meaning alongside grief
• Parenting and legacy: what we pass on to our children emotionally
• Creativity as a survival tool
• The symbolism behind Carl’s poetry and imagery
• Creating space for future generations to express emotion

Key Takeaways:

• Grief is the echo of love; we grieve because we have loved deeply
• Grief is sensory and embodied, living in memory, feeling, and the body
• Poetry and creative expression can hold what logic and language cannot
• Loss can clarify purpose and inspire deeper service
• Honoring loved ones keeps their presence alive; legacy is lived, not just remembered
• Children learn how to carry grief by observing how we do it
• Beauty and sorrow can coexist
• Grief deepens our appreciation for life and what truly matters

Connect with guest, Carl Manlan:

• carlmanlan.com
• Book: i can breathe
• Inside the Blueprint Podcast

Connect with host, Nina Rodriguez:

• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight

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