Laughing Trails Podcast Transcription:
Tips for the Trail: Listening Along the Way
Megan Cutter:
Welcome to laughing Trails podcast, where adventure meets the absurdity
and mischief of a life well-lived. Our intention is to break barriers and rattle
the tree of possibilities, to explore what beauty might open up when we
dare to live outside the box, while we’ll also share accessibility tidbits about
our adventures along the way. Remember, we are only two voices in the
community. Therefore, we are only responsible for our own adventures. We
are not responsible for yours. So have what you need on the trail. This
episode is sponsored by Barton Cutter Coaching. If you are looking to
discover your path or even Bushwack your own trail in this wild world,
reach out to Barton directly at bartoncutter.com to learn more. If you laugh
along the way, please subscribe and write a review. It will help our voices
be more visible in the world.
Barton Cutter:
Today, we’re talking I can’t see the communication and specifically how
even I communicate with the other Some of this is to provide a reference
point to make this look. It has some of this. I keep more and more about
how we communicate and what that means for our relationship because it’s
evolved so much over the last 22 years.
Megan Cutter:
Yes, and it has evolved a lot. And I think there’s also some core pieces that
remain the same. I remember before we got engaged, before we were
married, we were in Arizona, and I was sitting on your lab, and I said, I
don’t know how to do this. And you said, well, I don’t need either, let’s just
figure it out. It’s that, let’s figure it out, that has lasted for 22 years.
Barton Cutter
It’s hopefully a lot longer.
Megan Cutter:
And a lot longer.
Barton Cutter:
I think it’s that openness to not knowing that makes stuff so much fun. If I
tried to offer you an answer, we met then First of all, I know I would have
been very, very long. I would have killed the mystery.
Megan Cutter:
I think that’s something our listeners can take with them as well, that we
don’t have to catch every single word, that there’s a mystery in the
communication between all of us. It’s that discovery of finding out what’s
there, even if it’s not spoken or said.
Barton Cutter:
I think you pointed to something that Even though I talked about it with that
then, it took me a long time to actually learn to I remember when we were
first married, and we were trying to seek a workshop I got very annoyed if
your interpretation wasn’t exact.
Megan Cutter:
I know, and I couldn’t remember more than four or five words at a time. To
try to catch a full sentence and repeat it back verbatim was nearly
impossible.
Barton Cutter:
Cool. That deal with 12, baby, it’s over time. I think or it is, I hope. I just I’ve
just done a lot with that.
Megan Cutter:
You have. I think it’s also interesting for me as well because we would have
a really deep discussion or a disagreement.
Barton Cutter:
I cannot understand you at all.
Megan Cutter:
Normally, I catch 95% of what you say. That had to do with me being in my
own agenda and ego that all of a sudden, I had no idea what you were
saying. It was wild to experience that in real-time.
Barton Cutter:
Well, there was that on your side as on my side. I know that the more I was
I get pissed off, I get… I become really difficult to understand also because
there’s this emotional internal fusion that causes a lot of white noise in my
system that becomes reflected in my voice.
Megan Cutter:
Isn’t it interesting that joy and upsetness or sadness or anger can sound
almost exactly the same in their vibration and energy level It’s been a really
interesting journey to discern where along that energy pattern we are.
Barton Cutter:
Yeah. So One of the biggest things I would offer to those who are listening
is to try to feel as much as you hear, if not more.
Megan Cutter:
Yeah. And there’s this funny story. It’s been a long time, but when we You
were taking a class in coaching, I was asked to interpret word for word
exactly what you said. And there was this…
Barton Cutter:
I I had this exercise where I was sitting and just being quiet and holding
energy, and the other person couldn’t catch what you said at all.
Megan Cutter:
At the same time, they got exactly what they needed from the session with
you. I think it’s going to be like this for our podcast as well.
Barton Cutter:
Yeah, I think that intent and the feeling behind the words will transmit a lot
more than whatever we end up coming from. If you’re open to that, are you
feel free-to-play with us and around us as you listen?
Megan Cutter:
There’s also this really interesting conversation we’ve been having lately
around understanding and whose responsibility for understanding is it? Can
you speak to where that started and that came from?
Barton Cutter:
Yeah. So As a guy with cerebral palsy in a rather infinite society, I was
trained from a very early age that it’s always my It’s my responsibility to
make myself understandable to you, wherever you are, In the last eight
years, trying to make my speech as normal and as typical as possible. Yes.
Over the last several years, I noticed that I was having to repeat myself to
you more on me, which you had to love more than, and you understand me
better than anyone else. I I don’t know. It made us wonder what was going
on.
Megan Cutter:
I was diagnosed with a very rare form of hearing loss called hearing loss.
My type of hearing loss, I lose the mid-range pitch level, which includes
your voice. It wasn’t on you at all. I was not able to hear you and losing that
level of frequency. I think it was wild for us to realize that while you worked
so hard to be understood, that level of understanding actually was
somewhere between the two of us and not on either side. I also recall
transcribing and translating for you when we’re around other people, and
that energy level would start to go through me instead of a direct
connection between you and the person you were talking to. It’s really
interesting to look at the dynamics of understanding and focus when we
have a disruption, like a hearing loss or like a different type of accent.
Barton Cutter:
I feel that so much of this is relevant to how people communicate in
general, regardless of belief It’s a bit sad. I feel like the more we can begin
and explore what happens beyond the surface level of language. There’s
so much more to explore and learn about another human being, Absolutely.
Megan Cutter:
I’m ready to get started. How about you?
Barton Cutter:
All right.
Megan Cutter:
It is my turn to roll the credits. We hope our adventures have stirred your
own hunger for life, whether laughter, tears, joy, or in community with
others. We want to share our deep appreciation to Jennie Morefield for ASL
interpretation on video and Shane Ditmar for music. You can find more of
our creative explorations at laughingtrails.com. Subscribe to our Patreon for
bloopers, and there are a lot of them. B-roll on the Trails and other creative
offerings and treats from each of us. Inclusive formats include podcast,
video with ASL interpretation, and written Barton Transcription. A special
thank you for today’s sponsor, Barton Cutter Coaching at Barton Cutter
videodescriptor. Com. Limited editing, as we’re still figuring all of this out,
we have no idea what we’re doing, but we’re doing it anyway. And why
would you edit get life out anyway. We’re leaving in all of the good stuff. Till
next time.
Barton Cutter:
No.
Megan Cutter:
Video descriptors include Barton Cutter, a white male sitting in a motor
wheelchair with a very distinguished haircut that is salt and pepper. With a
high hairline.
Barton Cutter:
And very thin.
Megan Cutter:
(laughter)
The scene behind him includes a living room with white walls, a door, and
every once in a while, you will catch our white and black husky walking
behind him. Megan Cutter, who is a white female, and I have brown hair
and eyes, wearing a navy-blue blouse. The scenery behind me are two
paintings, both with sun and trees, a tall bookshop filled with books, as well
as a partition with a cherry tree. And Ginny Morefield, who has long red hair
and brown eyes, and wearing a crew-cut black shirt with long sleeves.
Laughing Trails
Website: https://laughingtrails.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LaughingTrails
ASL Interpretation: Ginny Morefield
Podcast Music: Shane Dittmar https://www.shanedittmar.com/