• The Gentle Rebel Podcast

  • By: Andy Mort
  • Podcast

The Gentle Rebel Podcast

By: Andy Mort
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Andy Mort explores the landscapes of personal growth, creativity, and culture through the lens of high sensitivity
    Andy Mort
    Show More Show Less
Art Personal Development Personal Success Social Sciences
Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • A response to bullying

    A response to bullying
    Mar 2 2025
    I know I’m not the only one disturbed by the scenes of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance publicly dressing down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. I was saddened and sickened by the bullying behaviour of those entrusted to know and be a whole lot better than that. The lack of empathy, the attempts to humiliate and intimidate, and the smirking childish arrogance was embarrassing to witness. Especially from individuals holding the highest positions of political leadership and responsibility. It presents us with a question. Do we accept it? Does it reflect the world we want to create together? https://youtu.be/lKk-Fp_nqaE The Ripple Effect of Bullying This kind of bullying affects not only its direct targets but also those who witness it. Many people felt the sting of observing that incident for various reasons. So, how ought we respond when we see and hear things like this, which might have particular personal resonance for those who have been on the receiving end of power abuses themselves? Growing up, I was taught that bullies tend to operate from a place of insecurity. They mask their inferiority with a facade of superiority. The hypocrisy in the accusations about disrespect struck me. It’s a classic charge from someone who feels insecure. They questioned Zelensky’s clothes—a choice he has openly described as a show of solidarity with fellow Ukrainians during wartime. In doing so, they displayed ignorance, wilful or otherwise, of the traumatic reality his country had thrust upon it from an invading force. Bullies don’t respect the humanity of others. They smirk, berate, and belittle rather than empathise, understand, and connect. Encountering Bullying Many of us have encountered or witnessed bullying in different areas of life—a boss who publicly humiliates or undermines an employee, someone who sabotages others by withholding critical information or setting them up for failure, or a family member who uses emotional blackmail or guilt to coerce and manipulate. The dynamics are strikingly similar. A pathological need to dominate, a pattern of intentionally misrepresenting someone’s words, obsessively pulling apart everything someone does, and active enjoyment from causing a person harm or distress. Arrogance or Confidence A bully arrogantly attempts to humiliate and intimidate. This is not a show of strength but a reflection of deep-seated insecurity and weakness. This reflects a distinction we might make between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance, as I see it, is insecurity dressed up as superiority. It’s the need to dominate, to belittle, and to control. Confidence, on the other hand, is secure in who it is and the path it’s on. It doesn’t need to tear others down to feel strong. Responding To The Quiet Rage This incident stirred a quiet rage within me. Something was disturbing about watching a leader like Zelensky, who had shown immense courage and grace in the face of Russia's invasion, be treated with such disdain and disrespect. So, what do we do when we witness events like this? It's easy to get caught up in the emotion and stay there. But it’s more important to pause, process, and channel those feelings into constructive actions. Acknowledge Your Emotions: Feeling angry, sad, or disappointed is okay. Express the energy of those feelings in non-destructive ways—scream across the sea if you need to, take it out on a drum kit, exercise your body, or throw something. Connect with Others: Seek out people who share your values and can offer emotional support. Temporary venting and ranting with people you trust can provide healing catharsis, as long as everyone is comfortable with it! Turn Pain into Active Hope: I spoke with Cindy Gale, who shared a framework for processing thoughts and feelings in a changing world. The four stages—gratitude, Honouring Our Pain, Seeing with New Eyes, and Going Forth—can guide us toward constructive action...
    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • Embracing Wintering on Serenity Island

    Embracing Wintering on Serenity Island
    Feb 26 2025
    We just finished reading Wintering by Katherine May in the book club, and it has prompted me to reflect on the parallels between the book's themes and the foundational values underlying ​The Return to Serenity Island​. https://youtu.be/NoGFVIuAPJk Katherine May describes Wintering as “a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in life when you're cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider.” We've all experienced these times in life, but wintering is a quiet act of defiance in a world that never stops. It is an example of gentle rebellion in the face of the perpetual demand to be productive and useful. It’s choosing rest over empty hustle, care over competition, and creativity over endless productivity. May suggests that we often treat these winters as something to hide or ignore. However, embracing them is “a radical act—choosing to slow down, letting spare time expand, and getting enough rest. If you shed this skin, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel raw. But if you don’t, the old skin will harden around you.” This resonates deeply with what we do in ​The Return to Serenity Island.​ What Is Serenity Island? Serenity Island is a slow and immersive experience, and perfect for those navigating, preparing for, or healing from a season of wintering. Whether you're in the aftermath of a crisis, have identified a gradual drift in a part of your life, or you simply feel the burden of life’s demands on your shoulders, the course offers a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the things that matter. You are invited to... Rest and listen: Discover tools to help you embrace stillness and notice the unexpected wisdom waiting in the spaces between. Illuminate the path: as the snow falls, it brightens the world engulfed in the darkness of short winter days. Serenity Island helps you find your footing more clearly and softens the harsh edges of life. Rediscover your voice: As May reminds us, despite beliefs entrenched by popular culture, to view singing as something for the talented is to misunderstand it as a natural and necessary part of human expression. On Serenity Island, you will reclaim your sound and find the courage to explore your voice, regardless of what anyone else thinks of it. Move with the seasons: Life isn’t linear, and neither is healing. With maps and imagination, Serenity Island helps you embrace a cyclical and three-dimensional understanding of growth. What You’ll Find on Serenity Island Wintering is not just about survival—it’s about transformation and enduring growth. May writes, “Every time we winter, we develop a new knowledge about how to go back into the world.” On Serenity Island, you will: Gain clarity on what matters most and how YOU want to approach this next season of life. Identify and gently release the things you no longer want to spend your finite resources (resilience, energy, time) on. Anchor in the present by embracing and enjoying life’s imperfect and bittersweet endings, letting go of perfect hero's journeys and wishful thinking. Slow down, rest, and be yourself alongside others in the folded-page moments of our picnic sessions, where there is no pressure to perform or deliver. Build your toolkit for life by using the course templates and ideas. Develop your own practices, rituals, and metaphors to carry you through future seasons. Ready to Join Me on Serenity Island? Maybe you're in a Wintering season like this and would like some company as you navigate it. Or perhaps you want to be more prepared to embrace your next winter when it arrives. If so, I invite you to join The Return to Serenity Island. This course is designed to meet you where you are, offering a space to explore, reconnect, and grow from the inside-out. Sign up for The Return To Serenity Island "I would encourage everyone to engage with this fantastic experi...
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Book Club | Wintering (Katherine May)

    Book Club | Wintering (Katherine May)
    Feb 23 2025
    In our February Book Club, we met to discuss ‘Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times‘ by Katherine May. Here are my notes on the book. Book Notes Katherine May describes “Wintering” as “a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in life when you're cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider.” Through a sudden crisis, the loss of something or someone, or a gradual drift, Wintering is about allowing rest and retreat to come. Rather than fighting it, pretending it isn’t happening, or wishing it away, Wintering is an acknowledgement that we can actively partner with the season and find healing, not despite it, but within it. “After all, you apply ice to a joint after an awkward fall. Why not do the same to a life?” September - Indian Summer We treat each winter as an embarrassing anomaly that should be hidden or ignored We may never choose to winter, but we can choose how Wintering is a moment when you need to shed a skin. This is a radical act - choosing to slow down, letting spare time expand, and getting enough rest. If you shed this skin, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel raw. But if you don’t, the old skin will harden around you. What are some of the default ways we resist and fight this process? October Making Ready The problem with doing everything is it ends up feeling like nothing. It's a haze of frantic activity, with all the meaning sheared away. Katherine talks about “cooking Autumn into the house” after being signed off from work with severe abdominal pain. The preparation of food provides anchors in space and time Preparing for Winter before it is with us - In Finland, the winter arrives suddenly, and you don’t mess with it (having the wardrobe stowed away for when it comes) Daily routines keep us on an even keel All this time is an unfathomable luxury, and I’m struck by the uncomfortable feeling that I’m enjoying it a little too much Can I justify a walk when everyone else is doubling up to cover my job? The things that make us well are sources of guilt and shame (rest and healing are perceived as luxuries) Hot Water Katherine decided to cancel her big 40th birthday trip to Iceland - she didn’t think she was physically strong or steady enough. But the biggest fear was judgement - are you even allowed to go on holiday when you’re signed off from work? What would people think if they found out? But the doctor gave a YOLO permission slip and told her to go In moments of helplessness, I always seem to travel north. I find I can think straight, the air feels clean and uncluttered “In sauna” - Hanne is not talking about a building, she’s talking about a state of being. For Finns, sauna is more than having a sauna, it’s a cornerstone around which life is built - birth, death, deep conversations, and a ritual cleansing of body, mind, and soul Ghost Stories Halloween represents an invitation on the calendar, to acknowledge the present absences and absent presence of those we have lost It is also where we can occupy the liminal space between worlds, thoughts and feelings - where fear and delight become inseparable, life and death, inside and outside November Metamorphosis Amid the transformation of winter - the unwelcome change - is an abundance of life We meet Shelly, who tells her story of recovering from life-threatening bacterial meningitis - it’s not a heroic tale of triumph over illness, there is no path or methodology, she just waited it out and carried on with life…she didn’t witness it, she didn’t have to look at her daughter in a coma (it was not her wintering - that came later when she was in a state of sofa surfing limbo after her parents moved to America and her relationship broke down) - she began a new creative project that on reflection represented a process of her own healing and regrowth
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute

What listeners say about The Gentle Rebel Podcast

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.