Meet Morda Kennedy

We recently connected with Morda Kennedy and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Morda, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

As a performance artist who creates original work inspired by dreams and fairy tales, I view the world through the lens of personal narrative. What is the story I am telling myself about myself? For me, resilience comes from telling better stories. When I was young, my story was written for me by doctors and by my parents who believed what the doctors told them. I was born with a form of muscular dystrophy. When I was seven, doctors told me I wouldn’t live to adulthood. They later amended this and said I would live, but I would not be able to walk by the time I was twenty. One doctor offered to put me in a home so my parents could “try again for a normal child.” I am grateful they did not choose this option, yet I grew up with the story that I would be a burden on the world, unable to care for or provide for myself, and that I would never find love or friendship outside of my family. I also grew up reading books and watching movies about people from humble beginnings who did amazing things: Star Wars, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…. These stories were way more interesting to me than the ones the doctors told about me. I saw myself in these epic tales and chose to see my life as a quest. I was a bold adventurer seeking hidden treasure and fighting monsters to save the world. Those monsters were often in my own body. I have lived with chronic pain my entire life. When I was 12, I had extensive surgery to correct clubfeet. They did not give me physical therapy afterwards, and I had to teach myself to walk again. I spent one summer in a pool, consciously building muscle in my feet and legs while pretending to be on an arduous journey through a blistering desert or a frozen tundra to harvest a magical plant only found in one remote part of the world and needed to poison a marauding monster or end a deadly plague. Heroes in stories go through hardship, and they come out the other side stronger for it. I chose to view my life as a grand adventure. Instead of being diminished and defeated by life challenges, facing them head-on is what allowed me to claim the title of hero. This didn’t change my circumstances. I still faced very real physical and emotional pain and fear of what might come. However, changing how I related to the events of my life and choosing to see myself as brave and strong against all odds kept me moving and thriving.

I also have to mention laughter when talking about resilience. Growing up in my family, grief and humor went hand in hand. Being able to laugh at myself, at the absurdity of life, sometimes through tears, has helped me keep looking forward and staying positive. Laughter helps me not take myself so seriously. On a biochemical level, laughter has been proven to produce the feel-good chemicals of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals lower our stress response, improve immunity, and help our brains stay flexible and creative. I choose to find humor in life, and this helps me respond and adapt more easily to whatever life brings. I am a Laughter Yoga teacher. Laughter Yoga was developed by Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian medical doctor who created the practice to help his patients manage stress. I lead a zoom Laughter Yoga class with the founder several evenings a month, and I am immensely grateful for this work, and for the Laughter Yoga community. Laughter helps me continue to tell a better story. Today, in my 50’s, despite the doctor’s dark premonitions, I am still walking, unaided, I laugh daily, and I have an incredible community where I love and am loved in return, I have a rich art practice as well as a business as a spiritual coach and mentor, and I am getting my PhD in Jungian psychology to help others remember they don’t have to accept the stories given to them. We each get to be the author of our perfectly beautiful, magical life.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a spiritual coach, Laughter Yoga Teacher, performance artist, and scholar who creates original performance work inspired by dreams and fairy tales and grounded in deep spiritual exploration. I am a PhD student in East-West Psychology at CIIS. I believe in the power of telling better stories to change ourselves and the world. My research focuses on how role-playing games (namely classic Dungeons & Dragons and the computer game, Baldur’s Gate 3) can support people in reframing personal narrative, particularly as this relates to spirituality and chronic illness.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The most impactful pieces on my journey were, and are, my ability to live my own story over the one others tried to write for me, my willingness to laugh at myself and at the absurdity of life, and my ability to give myself credit for this. Some days it is easy to remember I am a hero, and to laugh at the image of myself in a flowing cape. Other days, it is a choice and it takes work – and I choose to do it anyway.

If you are just starting out on your adventure, congratulations! I am so excited for you! Remember, you get to write your own story. You do not have to be the sidekick in someone else’s story, you get to be the hero in your own – and you can rewrite your story over and over again as needed. It helps to have a sense of humor along the way. Taking ourselves too seriously can cause a lot of unnecessary suffering. Choosing to laugh often, including at our own humanness, brings so much resilience. And be kind to yourself and give yourself a big hug. If you are reading this, you are resilient – and I know this because you are here. That is amazing. You are amazing.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I vividly remember the first time I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I was 11 and reading about Meg, in all her pre-teen awkwardness, saving her brother and father and helping to save the planet, empowered me to be a hero in my own life. This was shortly before I had several major operations on my feet and knees and this book helped me navigate that painful and challenging time. There is so much love in that book, sometimes it is tough love, yet it is always unconditional. Love is ultimately Meg’s superpower. I knew love. I loved others and felt loved in return so this book pointed out a strength I already possessed and showed me what a gift love truly is. I didn’t have to do or learn anything new to love. And I could potentially save the world with something that was already within me. I read this book at least once a year and that message still warm my heart and makes me feel like I always have something to offer in any situation because I can offer love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laughteryoga.org/find-registered-laughter-yoga-professionals/profile/23747/
• Youtube: @mordakennedy
• Other: https://starborne.substack.com/p/a-song-from-the-woods