Podcast Episode 21:  Bettina Madini

Alison Martin: I have to say, Jean is one of the nicest people ever. That’s how we’re starting today’s podcast.

Jean Trebek: Okay. Well…

Alison Martin: No, no, that’s all that’s going to be said right now. We just had a wonderful interview with Bettina Madini. I, I really enjoyed her.

Jean Trebek: Yes. She she’s so vibrant. And to me, she, like, really embodies the divine feminine, the goddess energy. She’s creative. She loves Mother Earth. She loves music. She loves art. She has a gentleness about her. And she’s also vivacious. I don’t think she has any problem speaking her truth.

Alison Martin: No. And if you can while you’re while you’re listening, go to her website at BettinaMadini.com and look at her art.

Jean Trebek: It’s gorgeous.

Alison Martin: Because you’ll really understand what we’re talking about when you see her. And we also did an interview where if you want to go to Inside Wink and look up just right, type in Bettina in the search bar that will come up to you. And you can look at her, look at her art. And she’s really so thoughtful. I felt like she was really intentional and thoughtful. I really enjoyed the conversation.

Jean Trebek: Me too. And I love that she uses so much color. And that color really helps bring forth more joy. And her artwork is just beautiful. And I’m so glad she has this creative expression that she’s sharing with the world.

Alison Martin: I think you’re going to really enjoy this. So here’s here’s Bettina.

Alison Martin: Where are you right now?

Bettina Madini: Right now I am in one of our rooms in my house. I’m in my home and I’m surrounded by nature. And I look out into the garden. So this is a room that we built on some years ago, and it is all natural wood. It’s the wood from our land here. You know how some trees fell and others we had to take out so that we could have a big garden. And then my art is hanging here, so it’s a beautiful room with decks outside. You should see it.

Alison Martin: Where are you in the world? Where do you live?

Bettina Madini: I live in the Midwest. In Wisconsin.

Alison Martin: Oh, okay. That’s beautiful there. Yep, yep.

Bettina Madini: Yes. See, I don’t know whether you… Can I show you quickly? Can you see my flowers there?

Alison Martin: Oh, yes.

Jean Trebek: So how beautiful.

Bettina Madini: Yeah, it’s a big garden. And, um, flowers and vegetables. I’m sorry. I have to move this back here, and so it’s just gorgeous. And we are surrounded by water. So I have the Fox River on one side of the property. It’s one of the few rivers that flows north. And on the other side, is a park and it is John Muir Park. It is actually I’m right next door to where John Muir as a boy came into this country.

Jean Trebek: Wow. Wow.

Bettina Madini: Before he went out west, everybody knows his California, you know, out west part of life. But no, not a few people. Not many people know about his boyhood place, which is right where I’m at here.

Alison Martin: Oh, that’s so that’s so wonderful. You’ve had such an interesting life.

Bettina Madini: Yes.

Alison Martin: When we were reading back over even our interview and some of the other interviews that you’ve done, um, what what has it been like to go from your upbringing to living now in Wisconsin? It’s just so interesting to us?

Bettina Madini: Yeah. What I’ve been doing is big city, small town, big city, small town. I’m like going boom, boom this way. So and the thing is, I grew up in Berlin. It’s a big city, and I grew up in my grandmother’s garden. So my grandparents had created a garden for my mother so that she, during World War Two, would always have fresh fruit and vegetables. And so I sat underneath these huge apple trees and plum trees and planted strawberries and flowers with my grandmother. And so this is a this was a huge part of my growing up. And I think it it planted in me a a seed. So I will always know where it is for me that I can recharge my batteries. I think it’s important for all of us to know what that exactly is because it’s different for every one of us, you know, What is it for you that gives you this sense of peace? So I have created this garden here together with Joel, my partner, so that I could have that space where, you know, sometimes it just… When I’m doing a lot of art events and I’m talking to so many people, I just need the space where I’m like, okay, just relax and breathe and reach into the earth, you know, and recharge these batteries and having water close. It’s very important. Berlin is Berlin. When you look on the map in Germany, Berlin is surrounded by lakes, and it is actually the greenest city in Europe. We have so many lakes there and several rivers. It is lake country and beautiful sailing also. After the wall fell, you know, everybody was free to go, which, you know, the border line went always through the water. So you had like years where everything stops. But after the wall came down, um, yeah, beautiful possibilities for anybody who has a boat.

Alison Martin: That’s wonderful. And it’s funny because now the three of us have a really deep connection with our grandmothers. Do you know?

Bettina Madini: Yeah.

Alison Martin: Mine was so special. I know Jeans and now hearing it from you. And what a sense of home and comfort that brings. Just to hear you say that you spent so much time with your grandmother.

Bettina Madini: Yes. She taught me so much. Like, you know, all these things that I think only a few kids learn nowadays, like knitting and needle things, like doing things with with my hands, which  is also something that carried through. Now, because I create wearable art, I just love making things that were not there before. And I put together different elements and make something that is beautiful, you know, something that I can wear or somebody else can wear. It’s so fulfilling. It’s so different from buying something where you don’t even know the maker, you know, somewhere in the world they did this and they maybe handmade it, maybe with a machine, but it’s like so disconnected and being really there and like, it’s so funny. Sometimes when I hand knit a piece, I add beads. And so I made one that is in the southern colors like Arizona desert colors. And then I found these beads that looked like skeleton shells, you know, and I added these on. So these finds and I think we women have these finds, right? These little trinkets that we find here and there or somebody gave us. So to create a piece of art with that is is just so much fun for me.

Alison Martin: That’s as we were commenting on how your your art is so feminine to us. Like it really leans into the feminine and we just we love it. Like the colors just make us so happy.

Jean Trebek: Yeah I do think your colors that you consciously choose are very healing because it brings such joy and I think it’s a reflection of our soul seeing all those, you know, emerald greens and ruby reds and sapphires. And, for instance, the beautiful shirt you’re wearing, you know, it just makes you happy. Yeah.

Bettina Madini: Yes, absolutely. And it’s so fun that you say that, Jean, because actually, when I paint this green or this here, what I’m wearing, to me, it is emerald green. I use actually the names of semi-precious stones. And I love those also. I love these crystals and stones and to get this intense saturation. And so for me, it is actually a real true, incredible like candy store-Joy Yeah. To mix a new color or come up with something like adding metallic gold to my paints and then to watch how the color of the paint is changing because the gold has the metallic element and, literally changes how the color looks, how the paint looks on the canvas. And I’m like, yes, you know, And I see hummingbirds in these colors. Like when they flare up and you see or the Blue Morpho butterfly in Costa Rica, like it flops like so heavy and so big comes out of the jungle and you see it for a fraction of a second because above the wing on the top is electric blue, and it’s like a flash from the jungle, you know, and the underside is brown and so beautiful. And I’m always like, how can I capture this beauty of nature? And these colors that, yes, are so joyful to me.

Bettina Madini: You know, to me, it’s pure joy. How can I capture this and bring this onto canvas so that it can be everywhere and people can enjoy it? And lately I’ve been getting incredibly amazing comments about my colors, which, like I want to say 18, 17 years ago here in the Midwest, it was out there in California where you are…it’s like no big deal. Color is like, yay! But the Midwest was more like a little monochromatic, you know, more conservative. And so, but now it has changed. Like within these past three years, I would say I’m blown away. It’s like people want color. And I’m like, yes, things have changed, you know, because I think it’s not for nothing that we are on a planet that has an incredible range of color. Yes. Look at the ocean. Look, I see lakes here in Wisconsin. We have lakes that are like lagoon, blue lagoon, green, incredible colors because there are bottoms. There’s a specific sand on the bottom of the lake that gives this reflection of the light. And it’s so tropical, It’s so beautiful, you know, So I.. I do love color.

Alison Martin: That’s so fantastic. Do you paint every day?

Bettina Madini: I wish I could. Right now I’m in a very intense part of the year. It’s a lot of events and we are out and about every weekend. And so I’m gasping for this air and I make sure that I get maybe like four hours within four days that I’m home, that I get four hours of painting because I really need it. And usually I make sure that I paint almost every day, sometimes into the night, long hours, because then I cannot stop. It’s just once I start, it’s rolling, you know? But, I know that now is the time to be out and about and talking to people and being being out there. And then I’m already looking forward when everything will change again. And we come into the the autumn season and then it’s more like the drawing in starts, you know?

Alison Martin: Right. Do you have studio there?

Bettina Madini: Yeah, I do have a small studio here in the house and then I have my outdoor studio. Sometimes I’m out in the garden and I paint or when I paint silks, I’m out on one of the decks I love then being in the sun because the silk and the silk paint, they need heat setting. And I love playing with the sun for that rather than an iron.

Alison Martin: Oh, that’s fantastic. I love that.

Jean Trebek: Beautiful. Do you ever have a dry season where you’re where you don’t feel so creative?

Bettina Madini: Oh, that’s a great question. Yeah.

Jean Trebek: What do you do to help, you know, get your self out of a slump or where you’re just like, oh, I’ve really got to…jazz up my creation again.

Bettina Madini: Yeah. Asked some other artists, ‘Hey, what do you do?’ But it is true. There are these moments where there is, and it’s sort of an interesting and not very comfortable place. I would say it feels like a void when so much has flown out or then I’m looking at, okay, so what is this actually, have I decided that my last painting was the best painting I’ve painted so far? And then, oh, like what’s next? Or whatever. It could be a point of view that is sitting there. But then I know as well, I actually know this space by now where it’s like the ebb. I sometimes feel as if I’m an ocean and there is a flow and there is an ebb and the ebb is as much part of the flow as the flow in the ocean, right? The waves roll in. And then to me, actually, it is a very beautiful thing to go to the ocean somewhere and be with that motion. Look at how the waves are rolling in. And they are so generous. Right? But then look at this sucking motion where the water goes out and it just goes out to make this incredible other new wave. Right? So I learned to embrace both. And it is not comfortable. Sometimes I feel like a pregnant woman, you know, So it’s in there and I notice it and it’s churning and I feel it changing and growing.

Bettina Madini: And it’s not yet time to come out. I know very well I’m enough. I’m experienced enough by now to not judge this or not beat myself up for it. What I’m doing then is I go out in the garden. Luckily I have the garden or even in the winter I go out in nature. Being out there is always the best walking, moving. My body is helping a lot or even going other places. Just going out there doing something totally different. Go to a coffee shop, go to a restaurant, meet friends, and then there’s always some element that shows up. Somebody says something or I come across this incredible book and I’m reading, and while I’m reading, I have this thing. I see everything that I’m reading, which I always thought everybody has, by the way. But I found out that it’s not…I have the movie theater in my head, so I see things. And then that is also inspiring to me. Or I see a color. Sometimes we go travel somewhere. I might be in Brazil and I see a cactus and it’s like, Oh my God, the shape, the texture and that gets my creative energies moving again. And so it comes back into the rolling forward rather than the moving backwards inside, you know?

Jean Trebek: Right, right.

Bettina Madini: And then seeing other art is just… Seeing other art, I personally find art so incredible or listening to music that’s as important to me.

Jean Trebek: I really love that you said you’re aware of it enough that you don’t judge yourself anymore or beat yourself up when you’re not feeling ready to express something creative.

Bettina Madini: Yeah. And you know, Jean and Alison, I even joined an online class with the art students league in New York. Just to be with other artists and to see what they are creating and to, to expose myself to how other people are doing it. And then we talk about something. Or my teacher, Ronnie Landfield, mentioned Odette, the singer who I didn’t know. And so things like that, to me, they are so precious, so juicy. Here I have another element. I listen to her music and she was incredible. So I would say for everybody to like just create this sort of a support group around you or other people who could inspire you and make always make sure to not be envious about what they are creating, but to allow their creation to ignite the flame in you again and bring out other things in you that maybe you hadn’t explored before, you know? So it’s incredible to be with other artists, with other creators.

Alison Martin: Yes, definitely. Do you think that the climate in the country, which has changed so radically between in the last even 10 or 15 years, do you think that has affected your art? Do you feel those influences or do you feel that your art is somehow really above that and in a creative space that is untouched by that?

Bettina Madini: I think this is a great question. Thank you. That’s really a cool question because we cannot be untouched because we are connected with everything we are. We are everything. And so anything can have an influence on us. So maybe it is a bit about what… That’s a question that I always ask myself. What did I come here to create? What did I come here to planet Earth to create because I could be totally somewhere else? What is it about the planet? And I deeply care about the earth. I care about the waters. I care about nature. I care about the creature. So it it has, in a way, let’s say nature and resources have shaped me because I grew up in Berlin and in the 70s we had the petroleum crisis. And so as a kid, I learned to always turn off the light when I leave the room to be very aware of the resources, not waste resources. So like this, this awareness of being with the resources and not over using them, be mindful about it. That was part of my upbringing. And then climate change. Well, when I see dead birds floating on waters or fish dying, it has a it has a deep effect on me. And so I am someone… I talk with the waters and I talk with the earth. And I’m asking always like- what contribution can I be with my paintings to you, Earth and to nature and to the future and to a sustainable future. And so don’t see my art separate from that at all. In contrary, I see my art as a way to contribute, which some people might say, Well, what are you doing with your art? You don’t clean water. And I could say, I’m not. What makes you say that, right? So because we as powerful beings can change anything. And I strongly believe in this. So, see, as an artist, am with myself in the studio and I paint what’s coming out of the inside, I bring that out, which is a sort of a fragile space because I totally open myself to any judgment that anybody could throw at me. Right? And I remember my first art fairs here in the Midwest. People were like, it was abstract and colorful. The kids were running into my booth and they saw the dolphins, but the adults were sort of like apprehensive. And it’s like, whoa, so unusual. What is this? You know? And then to have the strength and be with it and know it and trust this trust element, we we should all get a good training as we grow up in trusting ourselves, trusting our knowing, trusting our being and whatever brings us joy, whatever that is, for all of us to follow that as our true North. You know, that joy element that giggle and to never, ever give that up for anybody. So I see my art as a contribution to the earth and I celebrate the planet and talk with her, him, whatever you want to call it, and talking with the waters and blessing the waters. And I change the consistency of my painting energetically so it will be light and filled for the planet when I empty my bucket and fill it with fresh water. See? So we are we are all powerful healers. We can change anything. And so really, my question is, what did you all come here to create?

Jean Trebek: That’s such a soulful question. Um, and it’s just a teeny shift between- what are you doing versus what are you creating? I feel like your whole life is you’ve really acknowledged your soul. Using your physical body to bring through the essence of your soul. What else brings you inspiration? Like tell us what you’re reading right now.

Bettina Madini: What am I reading? Am I reading anything I read? Um hm.

Jean Trebek: Or you do you like to cook as well?

Bettina Madini: Oh, yeah, I love cooking. I love growing my garden and like going out in the morning and picking a cucumber and, you know, marveling at the tons of tomatoes that I got. And so this inspires me. It’s like the little things or when I come and step outside of the house and there’s this scent of flowers that is so incredible. It changes everything. Or I just look up and there are these huge sunflowers – almost two and a half times as tall as I am. They are way up there and there are these bobbing heads looking at me. It changes everything. I might be tired from just coming home from an art fair, and I look at them and they smile at me and it changes everything. So this is so inspiring to me. Or beautiful music. I’m listening to Tina Turner’s mantra, the Lotus Sutra. It changes everything. And then it can be a piece of classical music or jazz. And I love music so much. And then I start dancing and moving. My body moving. My body is very important, really. Sometimes I just have to drop everything and just like cut everything off and just go outside or just move my body. It can be so it’s so easy to just stay in this – I got to do this. I got to do this. I got to finish this. I have to leave tomorrow for a show. It’s like, stop.

Alison Martin: Right?

Bettina Madini: Breathe.

Jean Trebek: I love all those little things you’ve just shared because some people aren’t, you know, creative through a paintbrush. So, um, you know, it’s so nice to feel that you can have other ways of expressing. But even like picking your cucumber, isn’t it fun if you’ve been growing your garden to go out and, and pick a zucchini or a tomato, you know.

Bettina Madini: It’s so fulfilling, you know, or to discover what else is there because the birds plant things that I haven’t planned it, you know, there are sunflowers that it’s like, Wow, I didn’t even know you existed. Or now there are white cucumbers. And it’s like, whoa, I did not plant those. And it is I learned this from my grandfather. It’s the little, the tiny things. It’s this little tiny flower that is growing there between the rocks. Like, really be with it and notice it and see it. And if you really look at the tiniest flower, you will just be blown away by the intricacy of how the petals fit together. Of course I love seeing the Louvre or a castle like the big things. I love that too. Right. Or a big like, or opera. But then there’s the little tiny things, and they are everywhere. I found those in New York City, Times Square, like the cracks and the asphalt. And then there’s a little flower growing, you know, it’s everywhere. We just have to pay attention. It’s like Earth saying, Hello, I’m here. Look at me. I’m here to inspire you.

Alison Martin: Right? Exactly.

Jean Trebek: Yeah. That’s so powerful. Paying attention to all the beauty around us.

Alison Martin: I was interested in the idea of walls and walls that we build and walls that we create. And having been raised in a city with a famous wall and then that changing, how did that affect you personally? Like, do you do you still feel the influence of that? I just think it’s just such a very interesting way that, like, you’re in Wisconsin, which I picture is huge vistas.

Bettina Madini: I totally enjoy, like the openness of it. You know, when I was a kid and growing up in Berlin, I was not growing up directly by the wall. And Berlin is big enough that you don’t really have to see it. So I did not really think about it, but every time we went on vacation and we were driving, we had to go through the controls and it was terrible. They took the car apart and my dad had to lift every like the seats and they were looking for anything like tapes or what music tapes and things. So very, very harsh. And that was always a little bit scary for me. I didn’t like it and I was always asking my parents, What is this? I couldn’t get the concept of a wall or a even a border where there are these really incredible controls and why. What are these men doing and why are they so grim looking and why do they have guns? You know? And so that was never really fun. It took too long. And I just wanted to go on vacation. And I was impatient. And then I saw my parents also go through the struggle of answering so many questions. It was really was not such a nice part of history, you know. And yeah, so and then when. I was living in Berlin. Sometimes I saw it.

Bettina Madini: I went through Checkpoint Charlie a few times and went to the East Side. Was never really very desirable because Big Brother was always watching you. Anyway, when the wall came down, it was a huge celebration. Like I was in Paris on the day of but saw it on TV. But then when I was back in Berlin, we were celebrating New Year’s and I was actually climbing onto the wall and jumping down on the other side. And the military guys were still there. And for a fraction of a second I just thought, dang it, what if they now closed that wall again and I’m trapped on the other side, you know? So it was a strange thing. What a strange human creation, right to create walls. And yeah, it was present. I learned enough and I saw enough of the history of it in school. And I am it actually reinforced this thirst for freedom in me, you know, And for this to what would it take for humanity to not go this path anymore? Like, what if we could. Create so much more consciousness on the planet that that would not even be an option where we would ever go again. Like what if that is not part of our desire to create, but freedom and openness. So I really enjoy this here that I can basically just jump on a horse and run.

Alison Martin: I’m sure. And I look at your paintings. I do see freedom because the colors are just exploding out and grabbing me. And so I love that. I love that. For you to say that it it added to your thirst to do that. And I don’t know, it’s just the whole the idea of it and your art is so is so moving to me. Very profound and beautiful.

Bettina Madini: Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate this. Yeah, I create. I create what I came here to create and whoever can receive it and see it, that’s wonderful. And who cannot. That’s great. Also, it’s a choice that that everybody makes. And so I’m here and I offer what I have to offer. It’s here. It’s all right. It shines in many colors. And the more the more people that can receive it and choose it. I just say, wow, the more I am actually a success, You know, like one person changing. And when I hear from people, the feedback is amazing. Like how how they still after many years, they still enjoy my paintings and they still it brings a smile on their faces when they walk past. And how beautiful is this, you know, like, wow, I’m so grateful and it’s such an honor.

Jean Trebek: Is your artwork sold through a gallery or on your website? Or how can someone obtain a piece of art? Oh, and also, do you do commission work?

Bettina Madini: Yeah, I do commission work. I have done it already and I’m available for it. And I sell my art mostly in person. I do sometimes have galleries and I had galleries in the past and it’s always changing and moving. And so I have several websites where anybody can find my art. bettinamedini.com and Bettina Medini.art. So I make prints available also. And yeah, if some people approach me and they want a specific size painting or a specific color theme, and I always when I do a commission, I always say the one thing that I am asking for is my artistic freedom, because I literally tap into the space, I tap into their beings and I bring forth an artwork and I never know what it’s going to be exactly. So I need this, this openness, this right, this open space where I can run with my horses and bring and bring the art through. Yeah.

Alison Martin: What do you have a spiritual practice or anything that you consistently do. You seem very connected to everything. I’m just wondering if you have some sort of a practice.

Bettina Madini: I used to meditate every day. While I was still in Luxembourg and I was in the banking world, it kept me alive. You know, I meditated and and I found this connection to my inner world. And then at the first painting school in Luxembourg, I learned to really ask my body questions like, When is a painting done, right? I could paint forever with one paint in one painting. So when is a painting done or even what colors to use? Hey body, do you notice? Is there anything missing or I learned to have a really direct experience with my body and I was educated in kandinsky’s color theory and to feel the colors with my body. So that was and that is still a big element of my studio practice and painting and then what I then learned and went for is to let go of limitations and judgments. Yeah. You know, when I was meditating, I was always feeling great. And as soon as I went outside into the world, there was this weird stuff again. And what I learned then is that I was aware of everybody else’s judgments and then I thought they were my judgments, but they were not. And what is not mine, I cannot change.

Alison Martin: Right.

Bettina Madini: Right. So it is really such an interesting place to find out what is mine and what is not even mine. And it can be a very dynamic space to be in to get that awareness because everything and everyone is pulling on us, you know, or things fly through the ether and all this, all this noise on the planet. Could it be that we are aware of it? Yeah, we are. Yeah. We hear so much more and perceive so much more than what is audible and in our proximity, you know.

Speaker4: Yes. I’ve never even thought of that, that what you just said is when is when is my painting done?

Jean Trebek: Yeah.

Bettina Madini: Yeah. I could still paint on my first painting. There is no limit really. Like we could go into like an infinite amount of detail or not. And so I, I even talk to my paintings. To me, a painting is a being. It is like a sort of an entity. It’s an energy. A painting comes in and invites me to dance. And so then it’s always like, okay, who? What do you want to be? Who do you want to be? And let me know when you are done. And sometimes there is this moment of not quite yet and I have no idea what is missing. What is the missing piece? What? And so I leave it alone and I’m like, okay, you let me know what it is that is missing, right? And so I go about my day. I paint something else or I work on my website or whatever. I talk with you beautiful beings and and then something shows up and I’m like, Ah, that. And I add it to the painting and it might be a different color, just a little tiny dot somewhere. And it. Okay, then it’s, it’s done. So the painting then is happy. It’s done.

Alison Martin: The painting is happy. Yeah, that’s right. You’re just so wonderful. I feel so happy talking to you.

Jean Trebek: We really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Bettina Madini: I appreciate you so much. Thank you for having me.

Jean Trebek: It’s such a treat. And you are just, I think, just a blessing to our world because you’re honoring your soul and yourself and the world, really…Because we’re all interconnected.

Bettina Madini: And you said something very, very important just right now, honoring self. Yeah, we are mostly taught to not be egotistical. Right. And not think of self. No, we have to make our needs and our happiness. Number one, because we are a source. We are a source. Let’s say we could even say a source for nature, a source for the earth. Like when I pay attention to my body and I, I take care of my body and my being. How much more of a contribution can I be to everything and everyone? Right. So this this is really important.

Alison Martin: Yes, that’s so true. That’s so true.

Jean Trebek: It’s vital. And it can we can get so distracted by the outer world and we go, oh, I’ll do that later. I think that’s also what this is… It’s turning within and honoring yourself first.

Bettina Madini: Absolutely. And honoring our bodies and take well care. And I just got a wonderful massage yesterday and I promise to my body I’m not going to wait another nine months to get the next massage. It changes everything. The self care, the self nurturing is so important. I think it is even more important now that we have so many dynamics pulling on us from everywhere. It is. We are in an incredible time of transition and change and so are our bodies. Our bodies are literally changing. It’s a substantial like molecular change that we are going through. And to make sure that we have this like a five minute conversation with the earth, like gaze at the stars and talk with the stars, you know, talk with the universe or the Milky Way or to the tree, make it 5 or 10 minutes a day and just breathe deep breathing and whatever. Ask your body what it requires, you know, for this nurturing element. Because remember the ocean I was talking about in the beginning, it teaches us this deep nurturing, this deep, this these elements and our waters are changing and the waters in our bodies are changing. And so, no, there’s no model for this here. Nobody has the experience before like it is. It is incredible. It’s a miracle. And it creates its own challenges as we have to really look after our bodies and make sure. Our bodies are fine and doing well and resting and breathing and right.

Alison Martin: Breathing, breathing. Great.

Jean Trebek: If I can manage that, I’m good.

Bettina Madini: Singing is a good way of breathing. Then we automatically breathe, you know?

Alison Martin: Thank you so much.

Bettina Madini: You are so welcome. Thank you for having me. I’m really grateful.

Jean Trebek: We are grateful, too.

Alison Martin: Yes. And we’d love again in the future to talk again. So we’ll stay in touch with you, okay?

Bettina Madini: Yes, please. Thank you. Have a beautiful rest of your day. Thank you. You too. Bye bye.

Alison Martin: There it is. She’s lovely.

Jean Trebek: That was great. I feel so happy.

Alison Martin: Yeah, me too.

Jean Trebek: Right? I love, you know, I love at the end that she says to honor yourself. That’s the most important thing to do.

Alison Martin: And I like that she was talking about her advice is just to go outside and move your body and to look at a little flower. I’ve had that feeling some days where you’re just stuck indoors, you know, and then you go outside and like, you’ll see a leaf or a tree or a cloud and you go, Oh, and it just relaxes you and gets you in touch with something bigger than yourself, you know?

Jean Trebek: Absolutely. I think she really drives home the healing power of mother of nature and of color. Right. And being creative. I think those three things to me, she drove home. So it’s color, nature and creativity.

Alison Martin: Creativity, Right. And it made us when it was over, we’re like, let’s paint.

Jean Trebek: Let’s get some paint by number set.

Alison Martin: That’s right. I’m going to I’m going to paint something. I’m going to do something. And it makes me laugh because Bettina’s like, I put gold in it and I’m like…I’m going to look for crayons. When I go home, I’m going to grab a box of crayons, you know? Right. But whatever. Whatever gets you going and lightens you up. I think that’s that’s the gift, right?

Jean Trebek: It’s just staying creative and it doesn’t it doesn’t have to be a beautiful piece of art. I mean, it certainly can be, but it can…

Alison Martin: …be making a cookie.

Jean Trebek: Right? Like she said in the interview, it can be picking a cucumber.

Alison Martin: That’s right. Right. I love that.

Jean Trebek: I love that, too.

Alison Martin: I love that. So we hope you’re having a great day. And we hope that you look at a little flower today.

Jean Trebek: Yeah. And lastly, Alison, you are one of the most beautiful people I know. Oh.

Alison Martin: Thank you. And so are you guys.

Jean Trebek: We love you all. Bye.