Episode Thirteen - Rooted & Rising reflections: Insights from season one

‘I feel really touched. I feel really blessed. There's an element of sadness that season one is coming to a close. I set out on this journey and I didn't know where I was going at all. It was just such an unknown. Each conversation, has carved arc and now it's ending. How can I do the season justice and draw it to a close, have a pause, and then come back for series two. There is definitely going be a series two. That's not a spoiler alert’ - Anna-Marie Watson

From the autumn to spring equinox eleven guests have kindly shared insights and stories from their lives that trace their roots and what rises within them as coaches or psychotherapists and human beings in connection with our natural world. 

In our thirteenth episode Anna-Marie and Rob who’s usually behind the scenes as podcast producer reflect on their journey over the last seven months and share their thoughts on the main themes that have emerged with transformation, change, purpose, play and notice the gaps that have also arisen. Anna-Marie offers her perspectives as podcast host and how each podcast guest has influenced her work and life. Season one draws to a close for Anna-Marie with a mixture of pride, joy, sadness and gratitude. 

About

Change agent, connector, coach, collaborator and podcaster Anna-Marie combines her passion and curiosity for peak performance across her work and life. She brings a wealth of over twenty-five years’ international experience to craft a portfolio career. 

She is a self-certified learning junkie with a Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Coaching from the University of Derby and Master’s in Teaching from the University of Sydney; amongst other psychological and psychometric based coaching tools. Happiest outdoors Anna-Marie loves to escape the confines of four walls and co-create coaching conversations with nature. 

Anna-Marie is on a mission to encourage a different approach to work where our natural environment is valued within the business world. She facilitates outdoor coaching supervision circles; co-hosted the biweekly ‘Coaching Outdoors’ podcast for five years; co-wrote chapters in ‘The Coaches Handbook’ and ‘Succeeding as a Coach’ on eco-coaching and was a driving force behind the two successful Coaching Outdoors Podcast LIVE @ Henley Business School festivals. Former British Army Officer, she has worked in challenging environments from snowy Arctic tundra to hot and sandy deserts though currently resides within the rolling countryside of Somerset. Alongside her passion for performance and coaching Anna- Marie has a severe ultra-running habit and has raced competitively at an international level.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to the Rooted and Rising Podcast. I'm your host, Anna Marie, and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to join us today. In these conversations, we'll explore stories that trace our roots and what rises within us as coaches and human beings in connection with our natural world. Join our journey to discover your roots and what's rising within you.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

A very warm welcome back to your podcast at this end of season one.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

I can't believe it. We started in the middle of October in 2025, and we have just passed the spring equinox in 2026. The clocks are due to spring forward this weekend. Clearly, we're recording a little bit early, and episode 13 will be released into the world on Monday, the 13th of April. And I would love to say that we planned it that way. And we didn't. It was absolute sheer fluke, but I just think it's a really, really gorgeous arc, this journey that we have been through together with all our phenomenal guests who just have astounded me along the way.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yeah, and working closely with you on this project here has been a really fascinating arc, and what a mix of guests you've had from all different kinds of walks of life and backgrounds and interests. It reminds me the rich variety of coaching that's on offer today out there in the world. And it's a beautiful insight to gain that just through the lens of your podcast, Rooted and Rising. So, with that theme in mind, and I know one of the opening questions you often ask your guests is where do we find you today? So I'm curious to ask you that question, Anna Marie, and where we find you today. Here we are at the end of March and having recorded the first season.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Indeed, indeed. Well, I'm in Somerset, in my home in Froome. Spring arrived for a few days and was resplendent with all the blossom in the blackthorn and the plum trees and the cherry trees, and it seems to have disappeared again. Um though hey ho! So physically I'm there. Mentally, it is the end of a week, and it has been an in-betweeny week. I've been on the land in Dartmoor, and I will return to Dartmoor next week. So feeling very much that connection to a slightly different place, Dynam. Yeah, emotionally, it's such a treat to have this conversation with you. I've been looking forward to it. And as this series has taken shape, it just felt really timely to have another conversation with you to pull things together, to sit, to pause, to reflect, to mull over series one, which started with such an unknown. So yeah, I'm feeling immense gratitude for the work that you do as the editor behind the scenes working your magic. I feel huge gratitude to all of the guests who have been so willing to share their stories and their insights and go to a depth that I never thought possible. I'm feeling a gratitude to everyone who's listened in. And I know in our first conversation, I was like, if one person listens in, that will be amazing. And there is still a part of me which is curious and does track the stats. And we are on the cusp of a thousand listeners. By the time this podcast will be released to the world, we will be over a thousand, which I'm incredibly proud of having achieved. And I've got this visceral feeling rooted, grounded. This project has been genuinely me. I very much feel that I've shown up to each and every one of the conversations as Anna with curiosity, a willingness to seek connection to challenge myself with the level and where the questioning goes. And yeah, I wanted an element of provocation in the topics that we touched on the edges of outdoor nature connected coaching, which in itself is a construct. And I do feel that it's really helped me connect more to where I am in time and space. Bringing that acknowledgement in at the beginning of each episode forces me to then consider the same question. And I've also taken to listening back to the episodes walking and roaming the land in my locality. So there's so many threads. I could go on, though I will pause for a breath.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

You mentioned, and rightly so, being proud of reaching this milestone, I suppose. I was curious as to what else you might be feeling having recorded this number of episodes in this relatively short period of time. And something I've been aware of is it's interesting hearing where you are today. I recognise that with every podcast, it has to fit into your life, and you've done a commendable job of a lot of travel, from what I was aware of, here, there and everywhere, and balancing out those conversations, those recordings, and keeping the podcast consistently going during that time. So I'm curious as to what other feelings are coming up for you today, other than just pride of having been able to navigate that journey over the last few months.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah, I do really just want to acknowledge how much work a podcast is. And it becomes a part of my life, like the weekly cadence of it, the administration behind the scenes, the really spending time with each conversation and pulling out the quotes and crafting the descriptors. And I've really wanted to honour each guest in the process and do that myself, as opposed to using AI, which that's my decision. And it does take time, and I feel I gain so much from it going through the conversations again and again and again and again, layers and layers and layers, and I glean more insights and learnings each time I revisit the content, whether that is around the guest and also myself as to how I'm holding the conversation and which threads I pull on, which ones I choose not to, how the questions land, what could I have done differently, how have I shown up, how have I held the space? There's so much within that. So I'm holding a fascination. I truly find podcasting so insightful. I love it. There's a genuine passion for it, and I've definitely realized that more as this series has passed. And I know for others, maybe it's more in the writing realm, though for me, being in conversation with is such a precious space. So I feel it's like a confirmation. I feel an assurance in it, knowing this is where I'm meant to be, this is where I want to be. It's a real satisfaction, contentment, which I suppose maybe in some other projects I haven't quite felt things have aligned so much, or I've not fitted, or there's been an element of people pleasing with somebody else and fitting alongside. And with this, I've given myself permission to be me, which has been, yeah, don't get me wrong, a bit scary. And that's with the pride on reflection is huge. You know, recording Adrian's episode, for example, around psychedelics, when I look back at my backstory, my time in the military, my belief systems around psychedelics, there's been an entire 180 going on there. Conversations, for example, with Tracy Robinson around postpartum psychosis, that is a topic I knew nothing about. It was totally an unknown. And to be able to move towards that and to hear her experiences and like wow, there's a lot of pain and grief and trauma in there, similarly with Tracy Falcon. And rather than running in the opposite direction or stumbling over words or not knowing what to say, just being alongside all of them has just been a real privilege. And to offer them the opportunity to share their stories that each guest may not have felt had value, or often we like recognize in ourselves what is so powerful, and to give them a platform to be able to articulate and to have a voice and to really hear and see them is all a part of this conversation unfolding, unknowing. So I feel really touched, I feel really blessed. Yeah, there's an element of sadness that series one is coming to a close, and that's more a case I set out on this journey. I didn't know where I was going at all. It was just such an unknown, and each conversation has carved this arc, and now it's ending. And again, endings and my relationship with endings and not wanting to let go. Okay, how can I do the series justice and draw it to a close, have a pause, and then come back for series two, of which there is definitely going to be a series two.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

That's not a spoiler alert. It's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

I'm excited about that for a variety of reasons. Yeah, you remind me there that as one chapter closes, a new one opens. And I really appreciate what you were saying there about it being part of your life and how involving it is. I also appreciate, and I can't ignore my own biases here, how it can be or can feel like a very fitting thing to be doing in alignment with all of the other work that you do. Almost as a vocation, perhaps, and as something that complements everything else that you do. And I know that you're very passionate about showcasing the amazing stories and work that other people do, and at the same time sharing those stories with as many people as possible, which is one of the great benefits of podcasts, being able to essentially distribute a single conversation many, many times across time and space. So to watch that journey, that arc that you talk about there and experience that, and from my point of view, as a listener as well as a producer, be excited about the next one and what that has to offer. I think you've already sort of raised your own bar as the season has unfolded, and that makes it perhaps a little bit daunting, but also exciting for the next season too. We'll talk a little bit more about that towards the end, what's to come. I'm keen to further reflect on the season that has just closed. And I'm very curious to ask you a question about what you've experienced and what you've picked up on in terms of the many conversations that you've had. And I'm curious whether from almost tapping into your coaching, the part of you that is a coach, one of the skills that I'm very aware that great coaches are good at is this ability to be able to listen to what isn't being said. And I'm curious as to when you reflect on your first series and you listen to yourself and also and how your guests have responded to your inquiry and questioning. Is there anything that you heard either in your own voice or in the voice of your guests that wasn't apparent to you during the recording, but is now apparent to you post-recording, listening back almost as a listener?

SPEAKER_01 12:17

There's that meta-perspective of the patterns and the trends that have sparked. It's the shared threads between the conversations, which when you listen to one episode, you may not pick up on, but having listened to all of them multiple times, it's like, oh, that's apparent. And it's almost with the podcast title Rooted in Rising and Exploring People's Journeys and Connection to Nature, that that is the thread. And then there's been a big piece around transformation and change. Pretty much all the guests have had early careers of varying sorts, and then there has been a shift, and that decision point, whether conscious or unconscious, has then propelled them on this coaching or psychotherapy. We've had some other therapists on as well, on that journey. So, how then each individual has navigated through that period of change and what they have then pulled from their early careers and drawn in that connection with nature. And I just want to maybe slight tangent here, really honour that connection with nature because it's ever present, though not always explicitly so. And there's been an insight into that on the behind-the-scenes insights on the website that I share, which the guests have had a real delight in working through. So, as a listener, if you've not discovered the insights, go and check the website out. And there's a number of insights there. And mull over your own insights as well. And I would love to know what you come up with with that. And one of the insights is around this relationship with nature. How do you describe that? And there's just been some beautiful descriptions. My saviour and honeymoon phase, co-nurturing buddies, evolving and deepening. We are the same. It's where I heal my hurts. We are both longing for each other. What is clearly apparent is, you know, there's a bias here. We're all coaches, we all love nature to a varying degree, we've all got this positive relationship. And this is what I feel that Bruce Geddes really draws the series to a close with is this piece around, well, actually, the barriers to nature and that accessibility and equity. So again, this was not planned. The series unfolded. And I believe by wrapping the series up with her voice, it really signposts that actually within the series itself, there is a huge bias going on, and there's gonna be. And I'm keen to challenge myself moving forwards into series two, three, four, da-da. Okay, how can again I go beyond my own inherent bias? And to anyone listening in, you know, I love your support with this as well. Where are the differences? What have you noticed? Who do you want to hear from? Because this is a joint affair. And yes, I'm in conversation, though I'd love to bring in more of the difference and more of the variety. So there's that piece. There's there's definitely a thread here around purpose as well, and that deep alignment physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, spiritually, and where we've gone in the conversations beyond the head. And yes, we have paid homage to the head with a couple of the episodes talking about the research, particularly you know, Jonathan Passmore's and Eddie Lloyd Jones's. There's brought that in. And I do feel that there is space for more of the spiritual element of it, and keen to go there next series. I know another thing that kind of came through was like this lightness, this play, it's not taking things too seriously, which has been an interesting reflection back at myself, and actually prompted me to go to a seriously playful clown improvisation workshop last weekend, which was utterly beyond my comfort zone. Wow, yeah. And that in itself, I was having a conversation with a friend, and they were like, ex-army officer goes and does these endurance adventures, and I'm like, yeah, yeah, that those are my comfort zones. Like I can do the army officer and I can do the running forever thing till the cows come home. Going and playing and pretending like, well, being silly, I was like, that's beyond my comfort zone. So again, I am taking from this podcast, I am challenging myself and living and breathing and doing things that I wouldn't have done in the past as well. So I hope that these conversations can inspire our listeners to challenge themselves as well. And again, there is that challenge. And I think the challenge, it's been there. It might not have been explicit, though the challenge is it is. It's like, okay, we're within the system, we're part of the system, we've created this system. There's so much that is just insane, in my opinion. And how can we as part of the system create a change? And for me, this podcast gives me a voice and the guests a voice to be a part of that, particularly within raising awareness.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Wow, so much in there. I loved hearing some of the what I felt were the internal shifts and the winds, perhaps, that came through for you as part of that experience for you as the host, listening back as a listener to the series there. And I'm curious, were there any other internal shifts or wins? Were there any moments perhaps where you found yourself punching the air, perhaps, when you were listening back, thinking this is great, this is something that I hadn't planned for, but really aligns with the meaning and the intention of what you set out to do publishing this podcast?

SPEAKER_01 18:06

It's always a balance, I find, between how much space. So it's that whole less is more as a host, and then how much do I bring of myself into the conversation? How much am I sharing my story? It's a balance. I really want to showcase each guest and really put the spotlight on them and shine the light and like you're amazing. Like, look at everything you've done and who you are as a human being. And this has been a part of my journey. And yes, we can go back to childhood of children being in the corner and being speak when you're spoken to and actually having that opinion and me showing up and going, actually, well, this is me. I have behind the scenes, I've been doing a lot of work with my therapist Kate Marion around giving myself permission to go. I don't know. And the I don't know, which as an army officer, you needed to know the answer. That was kind of your job. And if you didn't know, you wanted to come up with something fast, particularly on operations in Afghanistan or Iraq. And at school, I don't know wasn't an answer. My mother, bless her, as a primary school teacher. Like, I needed to know the answer, and it had to be the right answer. So just to go to step away to give myself permission to go, I don't know. And that's okay. Actually, the don't know gives the emergence of possibility, and that in itself is exciting and damn right scary. Because then there is Anna, the planner, the controller, the future. So trusting myself. And that almost circles back to how I prepare for each episode. And in the podcast I did previously, it was a lot more scripted. The questions were there. Whereas this has been very intuitive. I have a conversation with each guest beforehand, and I've really enjoyed that as an initial connection and getting to know each guest. And yes, I have gone on their LinkedIn profile or whatever socials and gone on their websites and pulled out key elements or maybe a story that they share that I'm like, oh, interesting, or a quote, the way they describe themselves or present themselves. And then it's just a trust and just again, that word is not just like the trust thing. And pressing record and going, like, okay, where are we going to go with this? And yes, there's a thread, there's a rooted and rising backdrop. Which has been gorgeous to see the way the guests have each embraced that in their own way, and as a concept, how that has then enabled them to reflect back on their worlds.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Yeah, you remind me of the unpredictable nature there. And no matter how much planning you put into the podcast, you never quite know what you're going to get on the day and what's going to come out in the conversation, particularly with the nature of your conversations that are somewhat perhaps premeditated, but also very much holding space open, allowing people to share their stories and their own journey and the various themes and topics that come up as a part of your season and show. I'm curious, was there anything that perhaps prior to launch or before each episode that concerned you or you felt apprehensive about, now that you've completed this first season, you reflect on and think, well, actually that wasn't something I needed to worry about.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Each episode is an unknown. I kind of liken this to a coaching conversation with any of my clients. I arrive at each coaching conversation. I don't know where it's gonna go. And that is something that I've pulled into the conversation. Clearly, there's an element that it's been recorded. And it's gonna go out to listeners, it's different from a coaching conversation, which is between me and my clients, though there is a similarity there. And yeah, it's like that visceral, and again, our emotional sensations within our physicality. Excitement and nerves has a very similar signature. It's ultimately how are we interpreting it mentally and what label are we assigning it. So I would say the depth of conversation has blown me away. And that I've just been in awe of where my guests have been so open and honest. I mean, kickstarting episode two, Emma Thorpe talking about her ADHD and ancestral trauma and the journey that she has been on. Just I was like, right, okay, we've set the bar here. Where am I gonna go from this? That's like that was uh no pressure on subsequent conversations, and they flowed, absolutely flowed, and followed by you know Carmen talking about her journey and decision to go to wizard school, and then Karen Prentice, and I loved the elder energy that she brought to the conversation, and hearing about being orphaned as a teenager was just my guests are sharing experiences that that's not my lived experience. This is so different, so removed from my world that the difference, that gap, and I have so much to learn from them. So, yeah, pressing record, it's like that. Oh, it's the beginning. Like, where are we gonna go? I don't know. We could go here, we could go there, we could go, oh, oof. And there's also a time element to it as well. I'm I'm aiming to keep each episode around 45 minutes. So clearly I managed to crash through that pretty much every time. More about 50, 55. Because there is so much in there of where we could go and drawing the conversations to a close, there is an element of pace and spaciousness, and how to get that balance. And again, the word balance doesn't do it justice because it's not really a balance, it ebbs and it flows.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah, there is so much ebb and flow, and you remind me there of the surprises that come up in the conversations. And as coaches, one of the things that for you as a coach, Anna Marie, you have to hold space for somebody else and anticipate the element of surprise and something coming up in a coaching conversation that you don't expect. That's similar to but quite different from the same thing happening in a podcast type conversation. And even though a number of your guests, if not all of your guests, are sort of familiar with that territory. I'm curious as well, was there any points in this first season where you felt exposed as a host? Maybe something a guest said that you just didn't expect. And if there was, how did that affect or adjust the conversation direction for you as the host and someone holding space as part of that conversation?

SPEAKER_01 25:20

This is almost returning to the conversation with Adrian and having the decision to cover psychedelics and then talk about my experiences with ayahuasca. And that was an internal debate. Do I go there? Do I don't go there? Oh, my parents might be listening in. Not sure that they have. If they have, probably would have heard about it by now. I know. So that was an edge for me. And that decision of do I speak my truth within this episode? And actually to remain quiet in that moment would have been inauthentic, I believe. So there was definitely a pivotal point of how much do I bring in here of me or not? Um, dancing in that moment. I also feel the conversation with Hamish and again the connection to our shared military experience and hearing the vulnerability in how he shared as a male army officer in an infantry regiment really astounded me and it really encouraged me to reflect on who I was as a female army officer at that moment in time. I feel that's probably being compounded by the fact I've been doing some work out in Baghdad with the Iraqi army working with female officers. So again, this is almost it illustrates how the podcast goes beyond being a podcast. It is integral with my work, with my life, encouraging me to reflect on, okay, my lived experience in my 20s as a female army officer. How has that shaped me? And again, that's something that I've been working on in therapy, particularly the conditioning, the training, the programming. And yes, I've had an immense amount from my military career. I'm extremely grateful for it, and I have paid a toll as well. Three operational tours by the age of 29, when from a neurological perspective, your brain is still forming, it has deeply, deeply impacted and shaped who I am on several levels. So that's been quite confronting. And hearing Hamish's story of how he's moved through and his work now as a purpose and wilderness guide, and his journey of sense making, processing, meditation, the Pashna retreats, it was it's not comparison, we're all different. Though actually, how did my lived experience, what can I live from his lived experience, what does that reflect back on me? What does that prompt and challenge within myself as to how I'm showing up now? So yeah, I mean, I've learned so much from each guest. And Sarah's episode, the pale blue dot, was the systems approach that she has on a cosmos basis was just mind-blowing. And that really brought the environmental aspect into the room. And I feel that there is more opportunity to go down that. We talked about gaps earlier, and actually, I think that's another gap that we could explore in further conversations, and hearing her journey working at NASA for 17 years and how that has then influenced and shaped her coaching is really inspiring.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Yeah, it's really interesting to hear your reflections as a host and what has been going on for you behind the scenes in terms of how it affects you as a person or what resonates with you or what confronts you, to use your words there, as you have these conversations. Because ultimately, even though it's a podcast recording, it's still two people in conversation with a horizon that's ever unfolding in terms of where the questions and the conversation is going. And so there's always this anticipation of the unscripted, unexpected. I would say that from where I've heard it, there have been some very deep conversations that you've had throughout the series. And either for you as the host or for the guest, or perhaps even for the listener, some of the topics and themes that you've covered are quite tricky or sensitive types of conversation. And I think that's what's exciting about podcasts is that you have the opportunity to go there, but you never know quite what's going to come up for you or for the guest as part of that process of exploring the territory that you're choosing to explore as part of your podcast. So that's really insightful and interesting to me. And one of the things that stood out for me are the two tracies and the contrasting difference between those conversations and their stories. And what a coincidence having two Tracies, both spelt with an EY, I noticed as well, which really stuck out for me as some of the final episodes in this season. But I'm curious, with those two traces in mind, what came up for you with those two conversations that perhaps stood out for you recording them?

SPEAKER_01 30:05

I know, with the two Tracy's. Again, not planned. The fact that they were back to back, episodes 10 and 11. And they were both just so unassuming and so humble. Oh my goodness, just they both blew me away. I was pretty much speechless with both of their experiences, and then seeing Tracy's artwork as well behind the scenes and what she's producing as part of that creative outlet was just phenomenal. There's definitely with Tracy Falcons, there was a nervousness to again a bit of a backstory. My brother, he broke his back when he was 16 in the middle of his GCSEs, and he had to have surgery, and he really wanted to join the army, and he couldn't as a regular officer. So it changed the trajectory of his life. He since went on to become a chartered accountant, lives in Jersey, in I don't know, the finance world I have no comprehension of, and is actually a member of the reserve, the reserves, and is deployed to Afghan and has a very active life, and it could have been very different. So I was very aware that with Tracy Falcon's conversation, there was a personal story that I had. I'm very close to my younger brother, and what could have been, and the circumstance of his injury, I carried a number of guilt around it for a number of years as well. So for me, that was a role point, a touch point. And to hear the grief that Tracy carries and how she carries it, and how it has shifted and changed, was very close to home in a number of ways. And then with Tracy Robinson's experience, again, I'm not a mother. I don't have children. And I believe I won't in this lifetime. I'm now 47. I suffered a miscarriage with my partner four years ago. So that is something that I carry still emotionally, um, energetically, mentally, and that was something that I really struggled with. So for her, hearing her story and her struggle around postpartum psychosis and her mental health challenges post-birth and the work that she does now is something that is so beyond my known and is something that I will never experience. So there is an element of grief there for me. So yeah, it's interesting reflecting with you now on those two and how they both touch me so personally. And what I've shared just now, I didn't bring into the conversation at the time. It wasn't appropriate. Um, it would have detracted from the conversation. Though actually to be able to share in this episode, I feel brings more depth and authenticity to me and behind the scenes what was going on.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Yeah, I appreciate the courage to share that, Anna-Marie. And I hadn't known that about your brother either. And I think the opportunity for you to reveal that in this reflective conversation helps us as the listeners to your series gain a better understanding of who you are and builds that picture out in terms of the context of these conversations and the podcast and how it sits into your life, but how it sits in our lives as well, with you being the host and facilitator for these conversations. One of the things that really stands out for me from this whole season is the depth of conversation and I think a word you used earlier, authenticity, the authenticity of your guests and how grounded and how humble they are in their very inspiring, very interesting, very insightful journeys, is a real gift. It's such a lovely opportunity, perhaps for you as somebody to have that conversation and to record that conversation, but then for us to be able to indulge in that conversation and listen back to them. I'm conscious of our time together. You mentioned it earlier about breaking the barrier. There's a couple of directions I'd like to go in, and if there's time, I'd like to entertain both. One is on that note about breaking the barrier. Is there anything in this season that perhaps from the outset you decided that you weren't going to do, but you broke that rule quite quickly? Maybe the length of the episodes is one of them. But I'm just curious whether there was something that you intended to do, but you let go of quite quickly once you got going with it because you felt that was a better direction for you for this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

I spoke in series one about no expectations. I wanted a diversity of guests, though that in itself could be challenged. We have had a lot of lovely ladies, we have had a lot of Brits. Uh those who are of white British background, so I am looking to switch that up more. Again, listeners, your help is needed. Thank you in advance. Uh yeah, the Lent. And other than that, there was one of the episodes earlier on, which was The Chance Conversations, which was a bit of a different one, and that was to support Ellie and Jonathan with the launch of their book. And I felt that the focus was then on the book as opposed to the guest, and I didn't feel that that then was as effective. And again, is not something that I would be looking to replicate. I am aware that I've had other guests, you know, Philip Atkinson, Hive Logic, he has a book. Adrian Harris, Psychedelic Races, he has a book, though the focus was not the book, it was them. So that for me was a shift. And then, you know, Ruth's episode, the focus was more on the research, though I felt that that has wrapped off the series well. So again, it's like, well, what are the rules? Okay, it's about the person, and then I've just broken that in episode 12. So, and ultimately, this is my podcast.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

So ultimately, it's a bit of an excuse to have conversations with people that I think are interesting.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

So I'm just gonna continue with that.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Yeah, no, that's a great perspective. I've often heard of podcasts being talked about as the wild west of audio, and I think for that reason you can choose to have your rules and then break them or challenge them, certainly, and stretch them and test those boundaries out. And I feel you've done that really well, and that's really interesting what you were saying there about Jonathan and Ellie's episode and that perhaps being more of the focus on the book, whereas you've had other authors as part of your season, and yet the focus has been perhaps more on them and their own personal stories. And I was pleased that you mentioned Philip Atkinson. That was perhaps one of my favourite episodes of the season. In fact, I enjoyed every episode for lots of different reasons. As a listener, I could probably pick a really good reason, if not many reasons, for each episode as to why they're great episodes and great conversations. But what I loved about Philip is in that one, his passion, I think, for beekeeping and also what you can learn about the cycles and the seasons of bees. I think one of the reasons that was one of my favourite episodes is because I could hear you as the host, Anna Marie, almost learning something new as he was sharing it with you. And I thought that was a great experience because as the listener, I too was learning with you. So it was almost like we were in this together now, kind of listening to Philip speak and share what he had to share and his knowledge and passion for bees. So I'm curious, just singling out that episode for you, what you gained from it, what you learned from it, what your reflections are on that particular episode, because it was quite a bit different, I felt, in some ways, but not others to the other episodes that you had in the collection.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

I just have to signpost. Clearly, dear Lissa, you can't see, though I have got my bee jumper on today.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

In celebration.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Yeah, yellow jumper with a nice big bumblebee on my chest. Yeah. Bees are a spiritual guide for me. I have a bee thing going on. I've had a whole bee visionary journey and how they hold and support me, and clearly seeing the first bees of 2026 in springtime has been very exciting. And they are in my garden buzzing around doing their thing. So yeah, I really wanted to hear his stories, and we'd actually connected a few months previously. And I just loved his stories. The whole airport bee story was just hilarious. He is just an amazing storyteller, and he just really drew me in. I think he probably transported us all there with him. And I have had comments on how much people learnt about the bees and what a great metaphor in so many different ways that can be pulled into the business world. I was having a conversation with one of my supervisees and they commented on just the variety and how they'd actually then pulled it in as a metaphor in one of their conversations as well around transition. So it was a delight. It was playful, it was different. I mean, if you contrast the conversation between Philip and either of the Tracy's, very different. And again, the variety and the diversity I've enjoyed. I won't lie, I love novelty. So part of having these different conversations is really fulfilling that need within me.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

That's lovely to hear those reflections, Anna Marie, and your excitement for that episode. And I appreciate your V Jumper 2 being able to see it on the screen today. So that's great. And I saw my first few B's just the other week when I thought spring had sprung, and how super exciting that is. So on that theme, then I want to ask what's next for you as a person. But before I ask that question, I want to ask what's next for the podcast and what there is to look forward to for us as listeners.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Okay, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Good answer.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

What I do know, however, is that there is going to be a series two, definitely. There is going to be a little break. What I found doing the previous podcast was that we often ran from one series into another with our distinctive break. And often at the time I was like, yay, lose of energy, let's just keep rolling with it. And then halfway through the series, I'd be like, okay, this is a lot. So there is a desire to have more calculated timely breaks. Clearly, behind the scenes, just because episodes are not being released does not mean that there will not be work going on. Because I will be really taking time to go, okay, who do I want to have the conversations with? And I have got a list, I've got a spreadsheet, gotta have a spreadsheet, love a spreadsheet. So there are possibilities there. And again, I'm open to ideas. If you feel that you have a story to share where you know somebody who would please do get in touch. And yeah, I will be looking to start series two around the solstice. Again, I'm curious as to what will emerge. Clearly, this started in October. We went into the depths of winter, very much going inwards, hibernating, reflecting, and then the podcast has kind of come to a close as spring is springing. And then starting a podcast mid-summer, what is that going to come through in the conversations, consciously, unconsciously? How is that going to influence who I have the conversations with? What themes emerge, where the conversation flows. Again, I don't know. And I'm open to see what could emerge from that. So yeah, watch the space. And in the meantime, clearly, if you've missed out on an episode, go back, listen in, and go back and listen in to episodes that you've already listened to. I find that realistening takes it again to a different level. And there's always insights to be gleaned. And, you know, part of the reason I love going through the transcripts, I go through the transcripts visually and then I listen into the audio. And actually, that different relationship with the episode, I learn to another level as well.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

Yeah, and there are plenty of resources that the listener can pick up on. So I'll invite you to signpost our listener in a moment as to where they can find out more about the podcast. If indeed this might be their first episode that they're listening to, I don't underestimate that. Sometimes the last episode in the season is the first episode that somebody listens to when they discover you. What's next for you, Anna Marie? In the interim, you're always on the go. There's always stuff going on that I'm aware of. So I'm curious what the next few weeks hold for you now that the season's coming to a pause and we're in anticipation of the next one.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

I don't know what you're talking about, Rob. Yeah, I'm a little bit of a nomad. Bless Rob. I'm he's you know, whereabouts in the world are you? Oh, Iraq, France, whereabouts in the UK, or you're on another road trip. Actually, my schedule looking forwards is remarkably settled. And paying homage to what is going on in the world at the moment and the impact on so many people's lives that it is having is just beyond words. I'm speechless at what is going on in the Middle East and incredibly, incredibly saddened and angry. The fact that so many people are suffering is astonishing. So just really want to pay homage and recognize that because what is going on on a global perspective is impacting all of us in many ways, consciously and unconsciously, as well, and it is an unprecedented times at the moment. So, on a personal level, that's impacting travel out to the Middle East. I will not be going anywhere soon, which I'm really disappointed by. Relationships I have with the women out there. So that is creating a pause. So I will be more in Somerset. And next week I'm actually down to Dartmoor again on a honouring the deer course. So it's six days on the land, working with these ancient beings living on the land, sitting around the fire, telling stories, honouring the deer, eating the deer, making crafts out of various parts. So that's going to be, I feel a bit of a balm, like an away from. And I've very much consciously taken time to step away from social media and emails more consciously over the last few months, and I feel that I need that. So there are going to be periods on the land away from in reflection as an antidote almost to what is going on in the bigger political, environmental, cultural, social worlds. There is work ongoing, and this is a little bit of a shameless plug, for the outdoor and nature coaching handbook. Still unknown as to when it's going to be published. Hopefully the summer, maybe the autumn. The journey into the publishing world has been interesting, inverted commas. Take from that what you will and read between the gaps. So that is in the pipeline. And other than that, I'm going to be getting out into my garden, which is a wilderness, and maybe taming a little bit of it, but not too much, because clearly the bees need the element of wilderness in it. Other than that, being in Somerset, connecting with friends, spending time on the land with my hound, and maybe a bit of time down in Cornwall, Devon on the beach. So a lower key, maybe less frantic travelling. And let's see what comes from that.

SPEAKER_00 45:45

Very exciting. Thank you for sharing that with us, Anna Marie. And my closing question, as I have done perhaps throughout this conversation, I'm actually asking two questions in one, is one where can our listener find out more? And any final thoughts on our conversation today, or is there anything that's perhaps left unsaid that you might want to share in reflection on your first season?

SPEAKER_01 46:09

It has to be a thank you to everyone who has listened in. Ultimately, a podcast as a host without listeners is I don't know, you can pull many a metaphor to illustrate that. Though I am sincerely grateful for anyone who takes the time to listen in. We live in a very busy world where time is super precious. So anyone who chooses to accompany me is giving up some of their time. So a heartfelt thank you for that. And it's just such an honour. And I couldn't do this without you, Rob, behind the scenes either. So a massive thank you to you as well for being on this journey with me and trusting a bit of an unfashioned hairbrain idea last summer when there wasn't a podcast name or a logo or where I wanted to go. I just knew I needed, wanted to do something. And it's been a real pleasure sharing the experience with you and the WhatsApp conversations that kind of go backwards and forwards with each episode has been a delight. Other than that, signposting, Buzzprout, any platform that you choose to listen in to your podcasts. And please, my one request would be is do rate, leave a comment, all of that within the social world. It does help. And it's a real treat to discover when someone has liked or shared or commented. And again, there is that part with podcasts, is you're creating this content, and it's like a little tip of the iceberg as to who actually engages. Though I know because of chance conversations, how it has then impacted. So please, um, that would be I'd be incredibly grateful for that. And then there is the website, Rooted Rising Podcast, and that has the insight section, which are a little extra. And we touch on what novel would you recommend? What's your quote that you've been most inspired by? What's your relationship with nature and a little behind-the-scenes image? So it just gives you another flavour of each guest, and it's a really insightful, hence the name, opportunity to find out a little bit more about each guest.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

That's lovely. It's been wonderful to chat with you today and reflect on your first season, Anna Marie. I commend you on taking that idea, that frivolous idea that you had last summer forward and having the courage and the commitment to go through and complete this first season, which has been a real treat for us as listeners to experience. So thank you so much for what you do, and I can't wait for the next season. Looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01 49:29

I'm always curious to discover what's resonated for you, or maybe what didn't quite align. Feel free to let me know. I'd be extremely grateful if you're able to comment, like or share, as it helps to spread the word. And looking to the future and staying connected, follow me on your favorite podcast platform. And finally, a big heartfelt thanks for being a part of this podcast Passion Project.