After a 2-hour, 100-mile, early morning motorcycle ride, I sat with Cristina Romagnoli at a pavilion by Lake Apopka and talk with her about how she quiets her mind, and finds mental stillness.

Cristina works in the health care industry as a physical therapist for cancer patients, this year has been particularly difficult and challenging. She was transferred from the work she loves, to working exhausting 12-hour shifts in the Acute Respiratory Unit, working with Covid-19 patients.

One of the ways she finds mental focus is by getting on her 1984 Honda Nighthawk motorcycle (named "Frank"), and going for a long solitary ride in the countryside… "moving meditation" is what she calls it.

Photos taken with a 1950s Rolleiflex twin-lens camera on Kodak Tri-X b/w film.

Podcast drops on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Hope you'll join us. Available wherever you get your podcasts, or at

www.FindingMyQuietPlace.com

Recorded on October 18, 2020

Mentioned in this episode, an app for iPhone called Calimoto. Finds the most twisty roads between two points, or creates a round-trip route from scratch. Five stars!

Melissa's son Cannon was 20 months old when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, at the time she was 38 weeks pregnant with twin boys.

Melissa took me for a drive in her minivan — her quiet place — and told me the story of getting through this challenging time, healing her son, and how it led to the start of the non-profit organization that now funds pediatric cancer research worldwide.

She also told me the story of the recent adoption of her little girl, Charlie, from Colombia, and the medical treatments she required.

We discuss how she manages being a mother, a business woman, and wife, and to give the best of herself to each of these parts of her life.

Recommended reading / listening:

- Shonda Rimes
- Rachel Hollis
- Brandon Burchard

See photos of Melissa in her quiet place on Instagram at @FindingMyQuietPlace, taken with a 1950s Rolleiflex twin-lens camera on Kodak Tri-X b/w film.

Actor, musician, public speaker and creator of Orlando's "Immerse" festival, Cole NeSmith brings his usual calming perspective to Finding My Quiet Place.

We talk about what creates stress in his life, and how he deals with that, both in the gym and in the company of good friends, who don't ask anything of him.

See photos of Cole in his quiet place on Instagram at @FindingMyQuietPlace, taken with a 1950s Rolleiflex twin-lens camera on Kodak Tri-X b/w film.