68. What Does It Cost To Fit In?

68. What Does It Cost To Fit In?

Belonging is beautiful, but it is not the same as being liked, useful, agreeable, or fitting in. Angela and Deanna unpack the tender difference between true belonging and the “counterfeit” versions we often settle for—performance, proximity, sameness, and shape-shifting. This episode invites us to ask: where have I had to hide, and what would it mean to belong to myself? Timestamps 00:00 — Belonging asks more of us 04:00 — Marbles vs. puzzle pieces 07:13 — Performance is not belonging 14:43 — Change vs. hiding yourself 16:06 — “I belong to myself” 31:43 — Reflection questions for belonging Show Music: Just Like Me by, ThruLine The Morning Share Podcast is produced, edited, and mixed by Angela Boeckman and Deanna West. Socials Website: themorningshare.com [http://themorningshare.com] Instagram: @themorningsharepod Substack: themorningshare.substack.com [http://themorningshare.substack.com]

67. The Human Hunger To Belong

Belonging isn’t just being included—it’s being known, needed, and welcomed as your real self. Angela and Deanna begin a new conversation about inner belonging, community, loneliness, fitting in, and the brave work of feeling at home in your own skin. This episode invites us to ask: Do I belong to myself, and where am I present but not truly known? Timestamps 00:00 — Beginning the Belonging series 02:00 — “Am I safe? Do I belong?” 08:00 — Loneliness and the need for connection 09:50 — Defining belonging 16:10 — What belonging is not 34:43 — A practice for belonging to yourself Show Music: Just Like Me by, ThruLine The Morning Share Podcast is produced, edited, and mixed by Angela Boeckman and Deanna West. Socials Website: themorningshare.com [http://themorningshare.com] Instagram: @themorningsharepod Substack: themorningshare.substack.com [http://themorningshare.substack.com] Resources Mentioned Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation [https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf], Office of the Surgeon General (OSG). Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community [Internet]. Washington (DC): US Department of Health and Human Services; 2023–. PMID: 37792968. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

66. The Hidden Work Of Flourishing

What does it actually look like to help another human being flourish? In this Friday conversation, Angela and Deanna move from the garden metaphor into the real work of relationships: paying attention, showing up consistently, staying curious, and learning the difference between receiving and taking. Along the way, they ask a tender and slightly uncomfortable question: where are we asking others to tend what we’ve neglected in ourselves? Timestamps 00:00 — What does flourishing actually look like? 03:00 — Attention as generosity 04:00 — The five A’s of love 09:17 — The gift of not giving up 11:00 — Soil vs. fruit in relationships 18:16 — Receiving is not the same as taking 24:04 — Are we outsourcing our own tending? 27:09 — Simple practices to help others flourish Show Music: Just Like Me by, ThruLine The Morning Share Podcast is produced, edited, and mixed by Angela Boeckman and Deanna West. Socials Website: themorningshare.com [http://themorningshare.com] Instagram: @themorningsharepod Substack: themorningshare.substack.com [http://themorningshare.substack.com]

65. Where Are You Taking More Than You're Tending?

What happens when we take more from people than we take time to tend? In this episode, Angela and Deanna use the garden metaphor to explore transactional relationships, hidden soil work, burnout, reciprocity, and the quiet cost of always showing up only for the harvest. It’s a gentle invitation to ask: where am I taking, where am I tending, and who needs me to notice the soil? Timestamps 00:00 — Taking Is Fast, Tending Is Slow 02:25 — What Do We Take From People Without Realizing It? 04:08 — When Helpful People Become Commodities 08:02 — Showing Up for the Harvest, Missing the Tending 11:14 — Transaction or Reciprocity? The Difference Matters 15:06 — The Hidden Work: Tending the Soil of Relationships 17:33 — Is Disengagement a Form of Taking? 21:45 — Wherever You Take a Stand, Are You Also Tending? 24:39 — The Cost of Transactional Relationships 28:52 — Long-Haul Friendships and Dormant Seasons 30:04 — “I Gave, Therefore You Owe” 33:00 — Finding Joy in the Tending, Not Just the Outcome 35:00 — Reflection: Where Are You Taking More Than You’re Tending? Show Music: Just Like Me by, ThruLine The Morning Share Podcast is produced, edited, and mixed by Angela Boeckman and Deanna West. Socials Website: themorningshare.com [http://themorningshare.com] Instagram: @themorningsharepod Substack: themorningshare.substack.com [http://themorningshare.substack.com]

64. What Is The Garden Trying To Teach Us?

In this first episode of our series on tending and taking, Angela and Deanna begin in the garden—remembering family gardens, green peppers, root-bound plants, and the holy work of pulling weeds. What grows above the soil may get our attention, but this conversation reminds us that real flourishing begins with unseen investment, patience, presence, and care. As we explore wisdom expressed in humanity, we’re asking what gardens can teach us about people, community, and the difference between consuming a harvest and helping tend it. Timestamps 00:20 — New week 01:38 — Childhood garden memories 05:49 — Gardens begin before the harvest 08:06 — Intention, attention, and participation 12:18 — A watched plant never grows 17:08 — The Little Red Hen and shared labor Show Music: Just Like Me by, ThruLine The Morning Share Podcast is produced, edited, and mixed by Angela Boeckman and Deanna West. Socials Website: themorningshare.com [http://themorningshare.com] Instagram: @themorningsharepod Substack: themorningshare.substack.com [http://themorningshare.substack.com]