Episode 71: Catching an Edge with Wynne and Vicki

Posted on by Victoria

I love swapping stories with Wynne on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast.  It’s a connection-making opportunity that continues to delight me, each and every week.

This week? Wynne and I experienced some interesting vulnerability moments, causing us to contemplate our nature. Inviting us to consider our openness and willingness to share ourselves with others.  Not just the ‘glory stories’ – the moments where we feel we’ve overcome, transcended in some way.  We love those stories.  No doubt about it.  Celebrating the wins is fabulous but the connection-making moments I mentioned? They often come as the result of unabashedly sharing ourselves.

In this week’s Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, Episode #71, Catching an Edge, Wynne shares an encounter with a longtime friend and the unexpected reflection which followed.  I don’t want to give away too much. You’ll need to listen to the episode and take a peek at the clip below. (Thank you in advance…and if you haven’t subscribed yet to our podcast channel or YouTube channel, we’d love it if you would.)

Wynne’s story reminded me that as we share our lives with others – while walking the dog in the neighborhood or here in blogging land, in the workplace – anywhere – we choose what we share and how much vulnerability we display. In turn, we receive. Input, commentary, ideas. An exchange of thoughts and feelings, sometimes with an edge. A little grist…a rustle of judgement detected.

In this week’s story, Wynne shares an experience just like that. A conversation that gave her pause, thinking about the vulnerabilities we express in our interactions. And the choices we make about the stories we tell. 

As we talked, we thought of the beautiful poem by Jalaluddin Rumi, “The Guest House” which offers the pointed encouragement to open-heartedly invite others in.  “Be grateful for whatever comes…”

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Please join us for the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story.

We know you’ll love it.

-Vicki and Wynne 😊

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor Episode 71: Catching an Edge with Wynne and Vicki

Or subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Episode 71 transcript of the podcast

Links for this Episode:

Episode 71: Catching an Edge with Wynne and Vicki on Anchor

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

Related podcast episodes:

Episode 70: “A” is For Ambivalence with Vicki and Wynne

Episode 69: All You Have To Do Is Ask with Wynne and Vicki

22 thoughts on “Episode 71: Catching an Edge with Wynne and Vicki”

  1. The Rumi poem takes us to an astonishing place — to accept whatever comes, including malice, etc. And yet, as a clinical psychologist, I can tell you that the victims of unspeakable tragedy might find his words make it sound too easy. In particular, some of the sufferers would say that those who offer that kind of encouragement and guidance would do better to be quiet.

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      1. Thanks, Vicki. Human nature being a variegated thing, we must take care to assume our own resilience is an easy thing for another to acquire or display. As a therapist, the last thing I’d say to someone who has just been run over by a truck would be “buck up.” That some can recover from devastation is remarkable whenever it occurs. President Biden’s life serves as an example, as those who know about his history of losses of those dear to him.

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      2. Yes…and those assessments, appraisals have come my way more than once about my own resilience and resolve…overcoming. Every journey IS unique, and I like your phrase “human nature being a variegated thing”. 😉

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  6. Love your conversations, so warm and natural and insightful.

    Thank you for sharing the Rumi poem. I agree with its views on life and the people that we meet each day. It is no accident, good or bad! 💕🙏

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  8. That Rumi poem is one of my favourites and I’ve read it many times. Sometimes as a poignant reminder to accept. It’s not as easy as it may sound. Neither is vulnerability.
    I do also think that sharing stories of resilience and triumph are meant to inspire and motivate others when they may be experiencing a similar difficulty, yet sharing the difficulty is perhaps a search for resolution. It’s all part of the same cube, just different dimensions. What’s important is that we help and inspire each other. You and Wynne do such a great job of that.

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