The Hinge

Noel and Jake explore connection and the contemplative path, emphasizing how ordinary, predictable things and the non-efforting presence of people can provide a sense of belonging and safety.Podcast Editor - Ger Kellett Show notesEverything is waiting for youYour great mistake is to act the dramaas if you were alone. As if lifewere a progressive and cunning crimewith no witness to the tiny hiddentransgressions. . . .(by David Whyte)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon YouTube InstagramWrite to us at - [email protected]

Jake and Noel reflect on the contemplative life as resting in the truth of reality. They discuss the transformative impact of silence. referencing a retreat with executives who profoundly valued eating in silence. Who knew that silence could speak so much?Podcast Editor - Ger KellettFOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOWPatreonYouTubeInstagramWrite to us at - [email protected]

Jake and Noel discuss Herman Hesse’s perspective on creation as a  discharge of the living soul and the human need to make our mark, connecting creation to the desire to communicate the incommunicable and so feel less alone. They explore the distinction between loneliness and solitude on the spiritual path. Podcast Editor - Ger KellettShow notes:In its origin a poem is something completely unequivocal. It is a discharge, a call, a cry, a sigh, a gesture, a reaction by which the living soul seeks to defend itself from or to become aware of an emotion, an experience. In this first spontaneous most important function no poem can be judged. It speaks first of all simply to the poet himself, it is his cry, his scream, his dream, his smile, his whirling fists.(by Hermann Hesse)Loneliness is the pain of being aloneSolitude is the glory of being alone(John Moriarty)The pain of being alone is not being able to share your ideas with other people (John Moriarty)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOWInstagramPatreonYouTubeWrite to us at - [email protected]

Noel and Jake exchange on the transformative nature of listening, defining it as an empathetic and tender act requiring presence and a willingness to be changed by the other person, citing Jake's reflection on an encounter with Henk and Noel’s reference to King Solomon's request for a listening heart. Podcast Editor - Ger KellettListeningListening is a form of worship, but you don't have to kneel on the floor with folded hands or mouth the perfect prayer. Just open the door of yourself to another, become the spacethey step through to show you who they are. This isholiness: two people seated together on the pew of a park bench, or the altar of a kitchen table. Even if no one says a word for a while, receive the silence until it's like a new language only the two of you can speak.  (by James Crews)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOWInstagramPatreonYouTubeWrite to us at - [email protected]

Noel and Jake explore the profound power of words, emphasizing their role in liberation, recognition, and connection, leading to the choice of The Hinge as the name for the podcast.Podcast Editor - Ger KellettWordsThere are places inside me For which I have no words,And these are the places I write from. . .Words are like stonesThat I gathered in my pocketThat anchored me to this place. . .Words are a needle and threadTo my tornness(by Noel O’Driscoll)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOW⁠Instagram⁠Patreon ⁠YouTubeWrite to us at - thehingepodcast@gmailcom

How do we let go of docility, so we stop participating in known falsehoods? Can we embrace the agency that arises from confronting fear and the rupture of the world as we know it? Is this a time for stepping away from what no longer serves us, ending individualistic pursuits and reorientating towards community as a new beginning?Podcast Editor - Ger KellettReferences:— Speech Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada at 2026 World Economic Forum, ’Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.’ (John Stuart Mill)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOWInstagramPatreonYouTubeWrite to us at [email protected]

Jake describes an encounter with a man named Luigi during a flight, which leads to conversations about life, faith, and the importance of remaining open despite initial judgments. Noel recounts an unexpected stopover in Charlotte, illustrating the spirituality of interruption. . .Podcast Editor - Ger KellettShow notes ---Yesterday, I got up at four. I shower standing on the fold-down bathroom  seat for fear of athlete's foot. It works. I drop my suitcase and go through security. I order a coffee and drink it with distaste. Shall I take it back? Too much trouble. I read my book on Solitude until the gate is called — Gate 34. I walk down the stairs overtaking people on the escalator alongside. One of them is an older man in a blue chequered, woolen suit. His white hair flowing, long and wavy.  I think to myself I’d like to sit next to someone like him on a flight. I walk past fashion, book, sports, and toy stores. There is an empty free newspaper stand. A young couple rifle through a backpack in the middle of the corridor. A tall woman nearly trips on an empty plastic bottle. It’s six a.m. . . .(by Jake Esman)FOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE SHOWInstagramPatreon YouTube

Noel and Jake discuss the concept of beauty as a powerful, inescapable force that ‘hunts everyone.’ Noel introduces the poetry of Andrea Gibson and Jake speaks of beauty as an ‘apparition of God.’ They share their personal experiences of encountering beauty and its place, constancy and necessity for our lives. Podcast Editor - Ger KellettShow notes - Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps by Andrea Gibson‘…Of course beauty hunted me.It hunts everyone…There is no escaping the magic now.Beauty caught me and never let me go…’Write to us:Can you think of a time when you were struck by [email protected] AND SUPPORT THE SHOWInstagramPatreonYoutube

Noel and Jake discuss the many faces of gratitude. Noel reads a  poem  "A grateful heart” emphasizing spontaneous thanks for life, the importance of context beyond negative events, and the connection between gratitude and grace. They explore the place of gratitude amidst and even for difficult experiences, including loss and addiction.Podcast Editor - Ger KellettShow notes -A Grateful Heart by Noel O’DriscollUpon wakingImmediate prayerA simple thanksFrom my lipsFor the breath in my bodyFor life, longing and loveFor every birth and deathFor youMy BelovedI bowWith a grateful heartAlanis Morisette - Thank UFOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE PODCASTInstagramPatreonYoutube

Jake and Noel explore the theme of tenderness through poetry, personal anecdotes, and conversations about ordinariness and care, beginning with Raymond Carver's poem "Still looking out for number one". They discuss how tenderness is found in the economy of words and the beauty of the ordinary.Podcast Editor - Ger KellettShow notes - Looking out for number one, by Raymond CarverFOOTWASHING, by Jake Esmanshe had loved her fatherlike any daughtervalued his advicehis kindness, his companyyet she wouldn’t saythey were closethen, in his mid-eightieshis memory wentand with ithis personality — partlyhe needed her careand she gave itwillinglythey were intimate monthswhen nothing is privateand all physical needsrequire assistanceand that’s justhow it goesshe was not the firstto experience that great sense of closenessof tender mutualitythose days when she washed his feetand clipped his toenailsFOLLOW AND SUPPORT THE PODCAST InstagramPatreon Youtube