🎙 ANOTHER BRICK
SEASON 23: THE LIST
The third little pig built with bricks because bricks kept the wolf out.
That is what walls are supposed to do.
Protect us.
But the same bricks that keep danger out can also keep everyone else away.
In 1961, the Berlin Wall divided a city, separating friends, families, and loved ones for twenty-eight years.
When it finally came down in 1989, it was dismantled one piece at a time.
We build emotional walls the same way.
One betrayal.
One loss.
One painful memory at a time.
At first, the wall protects us.
Eventually, it may keep love, trust, and healing from reaching us too.
This week on Other People’s Shoes, Neil walks in the shoes of Ann Oickle, founder of Dynamic Living Lifestyles, for a conversation about grief, protection, and what it takes to slowly remove the bricks we have spent years putting into place.
Not all at once.
Just one brick at a time.
📝 GUEST INTRODUCTION
Ann grew up with four brothers, but grief became part of her story before she was even born.
While Ann’s mother was pregnant with her, she learned that two of her sons had a fatal illness that would eventually take their lives.
Ann describes herself as a “stress baby,” carried by a mother already living with the weight of future loss.
Ann was only five years old when one brother passed away.
She was nine when she lost the other.
Those early losses shaped how Ann understood family, safety, and connection.
As more pain came through family members, coworkers, and others she trusted, Ann began building a wall around her heart.
Each experience became another brick.
The wall helped her feel safe.
But eventually, it also kept people out.
📝 SOMETHING TO TAKE AWAY
👟 Will the painful things we experience define us, or can they refine us?
👟 Do we learn more from what we see for ourselves or from what others tell us?
👟 What can death, loss, and disappearance teach us about grief and healing?
👟 How do the threats we face shape the way we see ourselves, others, and the world around us?
📝 MEMORABLE QUOTE
“Will what happened to us define us, or will it refine us?”
📝 CONNECT WITH ANN OICKLE
Learn more about Ann, Dynamic Living Lifestyles, and the work she is doing to help people move from survival toward healthier, more connected lives.
📘 Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DynamicLivingLifestyles/) | 👥 Dynamic Living Community (https://www.dynamicliving.ca/skool) | 💼 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/annoickle1/)
📝 LISTEN & FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES
Every person has a story.
Every story offers a different perspective.
When we are willing to walk in other people’s shoes, we may discover that the person behind the wall is not cold, distant, or uncaring.
They may simply be protecting a heart that has already been hurt.
👟 Website (https://www.opspodcast.com/) | 📘 Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/opspodcastshow/) | 📸 Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/opspodcastshow/) | 🎬 TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@4opspodcastshow) | 🎧 Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/other-peoples-shoes/id1456045529)
📝 LEAVE US A REVIEW
Has Other People’s Shoes helped you see life from a different perspective?
Your rating and review help more people discover these conversations and remind listeners that they are not alone in what they are walking through.
📝 Leave a Review (https://lovethepodcast.com/opspodcast)
