Real Play: Rad Dads and Brave Daughters with Isa Hendry Eaton and Diana Hill

How do we keep our hearts open in our complicated and loving relationships with our parents, especially with our dads? In this “real play” episode, Diana steps out of interview mode and into conversation with her long-time friend Isa Hendry Eaton. Isa shares how she found forgiveness for her late father and how she continues to practice heart-opening in relationships with her teenage kids, friends, and mom. Diana shares how to apply a simple three-step process of building Wise Effort in relationships with curiosity, flexibility, and wise action.

Listen and Learn:

What is “real play,” and why is Diana bringing it to the podcast
Isa and Diana’s father-daughter connection
Isa’s story of having a father with mental illness
The power of visualization in opening your heart
The coo-coo-clock metaphor of heart opening and closing
Forgiveness in the face of vulnerability
How to use curiosity without judgment in your relationship with your parents
Our common humanity of messy relationships
How to be flexible, grow, and change in your relationship with your parents
Caring, wise action forward into relationships with your kids and friends
The wealth that matters and how you can build it right now

About Isa Hendry Eaton

Isa Bird, a Santa Barbara native, graduated from Yale University with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Environmental Studies. After a decade working in the San Francisco Bay Area in graphic design and letterpress fields, she returned to her hometown of Santa Barbara. A child of two Mountain Drive artists, Isa began her design and horticultural education by playing in her parents’ ceramics studio, learning native plant names on Santa Barbara’s hiking trails, and renovating several houses and gardens.

After studying horticulture and landscape design at Santa Barbara City College, the transition from Graphic Design to Landscape Design was fluid – working with similar elements of color, composition, and form. Isa is deeply influenced by the wild, natural spaces in California, the crisp, colorful Santa Barbara aesthetic and her extensive travel throughout Latin America and Southeast Asia. Isa and her design team strive to create meaningful, imaginative designs that continually exceed her clients’ expectations.

Nicknamed Bird (her Great-Grandmother’s family name), Isa Bird lives in Santa Barbara with her husband, three children and miniature poodle. Isa’s work has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV Magazine, Garden Design Magazine, Santa Barbara Magazine, and Edible Magazine