All That Matters

Come with Jan to a small village on the Beira Peninsula of Ireland, where he learns the power of community and connection. See if you hear the ring of a phone during the podcast. Mystically, it was a call from Ireland! Raise a pint!

Poet-Philosopher David Whyte points us to insightful and clarifying questions that can empower the lives we're living, and, as Jan shares with us, those we have yet to live.

Jan shares a reprise of an episode recorded during the pandemic. It's the story of a remarkable couple whose dreams were dashed and then reborn. Come meet Rick and Sarah and their discovery of hope.

If you could capture any image that represents your life, what would it be? Jan shares a reprise of the triumphant conclusion to one of the most inspiring individuals he has ever known, a man who experienced the worst that humanity had to offer, and gave back the best.

Torn from his home in Budapest, 17 year-old Kurt would journey from safe house to Bergen-Belsen with family and learn the worst mankind has to offer. Years later, in America, he and his wife would show the world the best of humanity. Jan reprises and introduces you to a friend and hero whose story will live inside your heart and inspire each of us to be the best we can be. (Part Two next week.)

Jan shares a personal story of his mentor and mother-in-law Marion Solomon who has just died. She lives on in the example of her life, as all we love do. She taught him and teaches all of us, to swim in the waters of possibility.

There are walls we construct that block hearts and minds from seeing the world, and keep us from being seen in return. Jan shares words from the Anglo-Irish poet David Whyte, challenging us to be vulnerable enough to walk through the door of life, not stand on the outside looking in.

Many of us meet a moment where it seems our lives and our ability to navigate them hang in the balance. Jan shares the true story of being at the end of his rope in the midst of two heart-thumping losses, and how the songs of a rocker helped save his soul.

We can be many things in our lifetimes. Sometimes we discover passion at a later age. Jan shares the story of one such woman who was dripping canvases before Jackson Pollock and who is now being rediscovered. The story of artist Janet Sobol is one that will empower the possibilities in each of us.

There are people we come across, some often, some not, who make human connection an unexpected gift. Jan shares the story of a wondrous woman and an everyday diner who serves up a positive spin on the mundane, turning it into magic to live by.

Good advice. It comes in many forms. Friends. Strangers. Life events. Jan shares advice, from Sandra Bullock to Charles Schultz to his own mom, advice that has made a difference. Pointers, humorous and healing, that can take us to the high road of life's journey.

How do we move from complacency to change? To locate the 'daring' within us to grow? Jan shares some poetic roadmaps that take us inside the important questions and help us find the power to wrap our hands and hearts around radical 'possibility.'

Poets and artists of all stripes remind us that hope is essential to a life of purpose, empowering courage and connection. Jan shares the true calling card of growing our future by locating the crack created by heartbreak that lets the light in.

Each of us has someone, or ones, who have taught us lessons that last a lifetime, continuing to guide us. Giving thanks annually, if not more often, treasuring their example, lifts us as well. Jan shares the lessons his own dad taught him by word and example that continue to stand the test of time.

We invest in ourselves when we discover purpose, that each of us has a voice only we can share. Jan celebrates playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who painted worlds with her words that made us laugh, cry, and helped illuminate the power and complexity of modern day women.

New out of Russia is that the great voice of moral clarity, Alexei Navalny, has been silenced. Yet, this news, and his life, underscore the power of conscience to illuminate injustice and inspire us to compassion and courage, in our own way, in our own lives.

When life throws inevitable roadblocks and difficulties, it matters that we show up, for ourselves, and for others. Jan shares the gratitude in having a dad who did just that, and the opportunity we each have to make meaning out of reaching out.

Jan shares quotes and observations from poets, performers, and philosophers to start your week, reminding us of the power in realizing we are 'alive in a broken world', capable of creating our own path of positivity, day by day.

Many cultures have created circles of stone that we marvel at, wondering their purpose. Jan shares the story of a personal stone circle and the powerful mirror to our souls these stones can represent, reminding us of the permanence of memories and what matters most in our lives.

In chaos it is possible we are unsure if we can still shine. We can. Jan shares the words of a poet who asks the questions our hearts may be asking. More powerfully, suggests the possibility of creating new maps to future light.

Life is often governed by questions we put to ourselves: What's in it for me? What's the worst than could happen? Who's it going to hurt? Jan shares the personal story of a stranger who called him to his death bed to pass on a life lesson of positivity that the man had learned from a life of manipulation, hoping to help others before it was too late.

Each of us has experiences that shape the way we see ourselves and the role we want to play in life. Jan shares the story of a welding genius whose art has taught the world what freedom can look like when you fashion with your hands the visions of your heart.

This past year has shaken us and challenged our resolve. It is a time " to come into the peace of wild things..." to renew and tap our resilience. To that end, Jan shares a personal story of an incomparable survivor and friend, Hannah, who taught him the power of purposeful living.

Right now some of us may be feeling abandonment for family, community, friends who don't show up. End of year, it may be part of our unfinished business. Jan shares the story of a dear friend and her path back from a deep rejection, and the poem he wrote for her about finding our way back home.

In the darkest month of the year, amid the shadows of war and hate, is the exact moment for kindling candles. Jan shares a miracle of a story, and the power of illumination, especially for making human connection.