Ross Gay | The Poetry of Joy and Connection

Ross Gay | The Poetry of Joy and Connection

Author: Thomas Huebl December 23, 2025 Duration: 49:02

This week, Thomas sits down with acclaimed poet and author Ross Gay for a conversation on the intrinsic link between joy and sorrow, and the importance of finding delight in a world where doing so feels increasingly difficult.

Ross’ work is focused on finding joy through human connection, from kinship and ancestry to the profound and powerful connection we feel when we help each other carry our sorrows. In this way, sorrow serves as an unexpected source of delight, a fundamental element of life that illuminates the precarity of joy, and thus its potency.


Ross was also kind enough to share readings of some of his delightful poetry.


✨ Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube:

👉 https://youtu.be/qI0gXJRzqw8

Video episodes are typically posted at 8am PT/ 11am ET


✨ Order Thomas and Internal Family Systems founder Dr. Schwartz's new co-authored book, Releasing Our Burdens, here:

👉 https://www.releasingourburdens.com


✨ Sign up for updates by visiting our website:

👉 https://pointofrelationpodcast.com


✨ Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He has released three collections of essays—The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023.

Connect with Ross here:

👉 https://www.rossgay.net


Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change, integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has led large-scale events and courses on the healing of collective trauma.

In addition to Attuned, he is the author of Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds. He has served as an advisor and guest faculty for universities and organizations, as a coach for CEOs and organizational leaders, and is currently a visiting scholar at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.


✨ Connect with Thomas here:

Website: https://thomashuebl.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Thomas.Huebl.Sangha/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomashuebl/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ThomasHuebl

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thomashuebl


Take our listener survey! We'd love your feedback on which topics and guests are resonating with you and which ones you'd like to hear more about in the future:

👉 https://forms.gle/uoygyKMmHeUHeJFD9


In a world often defined by fragmentation, Point of Relation with Thomas Huebl explores the subtle connections that bind us. This isn't a series of abstract lectures; it's a living inquiry into how our personal awareness directly shapes the cultural and spiritual fabric we all share. Thomas, drawing from a deep well of integrative practice, guides dialogues that feel both timely and timeless. Each conversation with a guest-whether a scientist, artist, or community healer-unfolds like a collaborative exploration. You’ll hear them grapple with practical spirituality, the philosophy of interconnected systems, and the often-unseen patterns in society that call for our attention. The aim is to move beyond theory into a felt sense of relational intelligence. Listening to this podcast, you become part of a space where the divide between the mystical and the empirical softens, revealing actionable insights for personal and collective transformation. It’s for anyone curious about how inner work contributes to outer healing, and how our most pressing global challenges might be met not with more division, but with a renewed capacity for nuanced, compassionate understanding. The discussions are deep, sometimes challenging, but always oriented toward a more coherent and connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Point of Relation with Thomas Huebl
Podcast Episodes
Pico Iyer | The Alchemy of Stillness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:38
This week, Thomas sits down with acclaimed essayist, author, and speaker Pico Iyer to discuss travel and writing as meditative practices, the spiritual power of stillness and quiet, and how creative work generates a sens…
Intimacy With Your Inner World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:57
This week, Thomas shares a teaching on how to become intimate with your authentic inner self, what causes us to distance ourselves from presence and self-acceptance, and why it’s actually counterproductive to strive towa…
Jack Kornfield | Stories of Transformation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:02
This week, Thomas sits down with beloved spiritual teacher and author Jack Kornfield to explore the important and often undervalued spiritual role of the elder, the transformative power of storytelling, and why we should…
john a. powell | Othering and Belonging [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:33
This week, Thomas sits down with law professor and Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute, john a. powell, for a deep examination of humans’ tendency to become divided, and how the narratives we construct aroun…
Becoming Mature Global Citizens with Matthew Green [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:03
This week, Thomas is joined once again by journalist and co-host of the “What is Collective Healing?” podcast, Matthew Green, for a conversation exploring the idea of “global acupuncture.” So what is global acupuncture?I…
The Art of Transparent Communication [From the Archive] [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:24
This week, we revisit an early episode where Thomas explores the concept of Transparent Communication, a practice that creates an open and grounded relational space where constructive and creative communication can occur…
Kyle Dietrich | The Sacredness of Service [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:40
This week, Thomas sits down with Kyle Dietrich, a trauma-informed leadership coach and the founder of Grounded Idealist, for a hopeful conversation about how personal and global crises can spark radical transformation, a…
Dr. Richard Schwartz | Expanding the Map of Healing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:35
This week, Thomas is joined once again by the founder of Internal Family Systems, Dr. Richard Schwartz, for a deep exploration of how we can integrate collective trauma work into our daily lives, relationships, and commu…
Listener Q&A With Thomas & Matthew Green [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:24
This week, Thomas sits down with journalist and co-host of the “What is Collective Healing?” podcast, Matthew Green, for a special episode to answer questions from our community of listeners.They discuss how we can recog…