Welcome!
Heather:
We started a new business!! I can’t believe it has come together after all of this time and also so quickly as a partnership. Sitting in a creative space, weaving ideas and thoughts and past work with the goal of experiential healing…it feels like my work is finally ready to elevate and bring this to life in a new way. What is exciting to you?
Austin:
A few things stand out to me. First, the mystery of what shape this work and business will take is both exciting and terrifying, and any chance to lean into the mystery typically leads to something life changing and beautiful. I also am super pumped to do this work in partnership. As we have met each week to plan, create and build this thing together I leave energized (as long as we take breaks from introducing too many new ideas at once). How bout for you?
Heather:
EVERYTHING feels exciting to me but the anticipation of it all feels even more exciting because we are already seeing the impact that it has had on the beta testing we have been doing with groups of couples. Hearing people jazzed about the topic of SHAME! Right there, I feel like my job is done….but its really just the beginning.
So are we really going to talk about shame?
Austin:
I love talking about it and since we talked last week, I have been thinking more and more about how we got to this place of starting Hatch & Heide and Unmasking Shame. I thought about those slideshows that are made up of Polaroids and what the Polaroid timeline for Hatch & Heide would look like. Almost 4 years ago I introduced myself to you in a desperate and self serving attempt to try and find someone who would be willing to refer me clients. I had just started a business, it was slow, and I had no idea what I was doing and thank God I did reach out, I just didn’t get what I was initially looking for…fast forward to today and we have a vision. A vision to equip people to think about shame differently, to reclaim their sense of choice and agency and to develop stronger, more intimate connections with others. Not sure if a Polaroid slideshow could capture all of that but I am disappointed we didn’t take more pictures!
Heather:
Dang, the slideshow of Polaroids would be an amazing window into the timeline of events. Sounds like we should still do it because we have a lot more to do! The work to get people excited about healing from shame seems so daunting but then I remember that its something I’ve been doing for years and IT WORKS! If only we captured the hours-long meetings in the unfinished group room at Uplifted - - with post-it paper all over the walls, you at the whiteboard getting it all of it down as quickly as possible and generally me on the floor trying to put it all together in my head. Launching Unmasking Shame has been a wild ride and I am so excited for people to learn more about it!
Austin:
I am worthless without a whiteboard in my proximity…I am forever grateful for that addition to your office…
Heather:
Noted
Austin:
Along with my gratitude for whiteboards,I am both excited and afraid.
I was driving my son to T-Ball last week for his first practice, and he was sitting in the back and I looked at him through the rear view mirror and asked how he was feeling. He goes… “I’m kind of scared,” We talked about his fears for a bit and after a minute or so of talking all things fear he added unprompted…“I am pretty excited too.”
When you mentioned you were feeling excited, I resonate with that so much and I also want to acknowledge my own fear that accompanies my excitement, and at times maybe robs me of it. I believe in what we have built and are bringing to life for others and that fear just confirms to me that we are moving in the wise direction with this work and how it can be done in really fruitful ways.
Heather:
I appreciate your kids and how much I learn from them. Yes little man, I am pretty excited too!! I think the fear has always been a barrier to my desire to know the outcome. Turns out the outcome is bigger than I ever dreamed!
Austin:
So let's talk about last night please.
Heather:
HOLY SHIT!
Austin:
I still feel high from our event.
Heather
SAME!
Austin:
The fears and anxiety I had yesterday that I wrote to you about took on new shapes and all in a beautiful and natural way. Sitting in a room with people and couples who are eager and ready to lean into discomfort is so incredibly encouraging, and what a gift it was to my own insecurities that showed up prior. I feel so incredibly honored to be afforded the opportunity to come alongside others in what may be some of the most painful and vulnerable parts of their lives…and to see them experience sadness, pain, hope, encouragement and all the other feels that showed up in that room last night. I know doubt will continue to show up and it's the moments in these rooms of healing that I can cling to to remind me of what is true.
Heather:
The second Beta event of Unmasking Shame was out of this world! It was a room filled with questions and you could see the wheels turning as they watched and listened. I am so excited for the next steps! I look forward to the world learning about shame in new ways that incorporate experiences and not just words.