Meet Suzannah Kolbeck

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Suzannah Kolbeck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Suzannah, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience is a tricky question: is it innate, or can it be developed? For me, it might be a mix of both. I come from strong women and tough times; I spent the first three years of my life in a one-room cabin in the mountains with no hot water, and many years after that very poor. I have had various traumatic childhood experiences that I carried with me into adulthood, and my husband died in a car accident when I was 42 (and our child was just 12). The last experience really solidified for me that if I am nothing else, I am resilient. Every day for a year after my husband died I put my feet on the floor — everything after that was a bonus.

And in that year, my daughter and I said “yes” to everything, which is how we wound up exhibiting the tiny house we finished together at the White House, and she ended up giving two TEDTalks. That year was brutal, but I stayed open and kept moving, felt all of the feelings and tried to stay rooted in the present.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I have managed to create the life I imagined when I was little; these days I spend my time writing, riding my horse, painting, baking, and hiking. I think my work is driven by a desire to share things with people; when I started to learn about urban foraging and medicine making, I decided to write a book to share what I learned (Healing Where You Are: An Introduction To Urban Foraging). Years of working with horses became another book (Build A Better Bond: 100+ Ways To Connect With Your Horse).

I am also a recipe developer and baker of gluten-free treats that no one would guess are gluten-free. I recently opened my home bakeshop and am offering a limited menu of cakes and treats; the best part of baking for people is knowing that I have a part in making someone’s celebration special.

I am currently working on two books (on urban homesteading and on building an off-grid cabin, one room at a time) and am also focusing on completing some paintings I started last year.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three most important qualities a person can have as they move through life are compassion, openness, and curiosity. Everything starts with being kind — to yourself and to others. You cannot get anything important done in the world without compassion, and cultivating it sometimes means talking back to any negative inner critic that tells you you aren’t good enough, or no one wants your stuff, or someone did it better. Once you learn to be kind to yourself, it’s much easier to be compassionate towards others.

Openness is the ability to see things from another perspective — it’s a willingness to accept other ideas, even when you think yours is the best. I think this comes from staying humble and recognizing how much others bring to your life. Appreciating the contributions that people around you are making, positive and negative. Being open doesn’t mean not having an opinion or not standing in your own truth; it means recognizing that change is an inevitable part of life and leaving space for growth.

Finally, curiosity has to be present in life. I have always wanted to know how things turn out. Asking questions, taking a different tack, shaking things up so that mystery is always available: this is how to cultivate curiosity and a genuine interest in the world.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I have struggled with anxiety and depression since I was very young; I can remember having what I now know were anxiety attacks that left me fainting at celebrations and hiding under chairs as young as five. As a creative, sensitive person, simply moving through the world can be overwhelming at times, and when I was younger it was very challenging to properly regulate myself.

These days, I have a variety of strategies and tools. First, I don’t begrudge myself a day in bed or on the couch if I really need a time out. I used to push through anxiety, a practice that just kicked the can down the road. Sometimes I just need a moment to allow all the feelings to wash over me. I don’t stay there for more than a day or two, and I try to pay attention to how I am feeling physically.

I also write every day, both as a creative practice and as a way to process deep emotions or heavy feelings (and even joy). A regular practice of morning pages is grounding and also serves as a record of a time period or an event that is important to remember (like the pandemic, or the death of my husband).

Yoga has been a prominent feature for me; along with writing, yoga non-hyperbolically saved my life after my husband died. Eleven months after his death I realized that I was in danger of never moving on, so I did 30 yoga classes in 30 days and never looked back, getting my yoga teacher certification and using all of the tools of yoga (postures, breath work, meditation) when I need support.

I take long hikes when things are stressful, and I am learning to reach out to ask for support. As an introvert, I definitely have a tendency to withdraw when times are tough, but I have found that good, lighthearted friends are a balm to the soul when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.charmcityedibles.com/
• Instagram: @suzannahkolbeck and @charmcityedibles
• Other: https://suzannahkolbeck.medium.com/