All That Matters

How to find hope? Remembrance is a powerful tool. Jan shares the story of the creation of International Holocaust Remembrance Day taking place this week the world over, and how the children of Terezin help us remember darkness as a pathway to light. "Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another." Elie Wiesel

In a time of division and the changing of the guard in America, Jan is reminded of a brilliant poem Amanda Gorman wrote for Joe Biden's inauguration four years ago. The words are more powerful tan ever, challenging us to be brave enough to uncover the light in ourselves so needed in difficult times, in our own lives, in that of a country, and of the world. Are we brave enough to be it?

The devastation of this past week's Southern California wildfires reminds us of the fragility of life. It calls on us to resilience through our compassion and deeds. Jan shares the words of poet Marge Piercy and the power of connectivity and community as a pathway to hope.

Dickinson tells us that,"Hope is a thing with feathers..." As we begin a new year we get to allow this soft bird of hope to take flight within us. How will it manifest? Jan shares a poet's view of new beginnings for 2025.

Louis Armstrong was a true American jazz hero and ambassador of how wonderful life could be. He experienced his share of racism and saw firsthand the inhumanity of antisemitism as well. Jan shares the personal story of Satchmo's Jewish connection and his choice to wear a Star of David around his neck throughout life.

Did you ever wonder what or who inspired that hit song? Jan shares the true background behind several popular songs, considering how they grew out of relationships, as well as their aspiration to change. Each one of us is capable of rebuilding ourselves piece by piece, as we end one year and begin another.

Many can feel weighted by pressures, ills, and life's struggles, especially in the darkest time of the year. It is no coincidence that Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa take place at this time with their messages of light. Jan shares the "rest of the story" of a man, William Ernest Henley who, though ill and struggling much of his life, created a poem of empowerment that has inspired the likes of R...

The movie musical has exploded on the scene with its message of how we treat the "other" in society and yet how friends can change us "for good." Jan celebrates the vision of Stephen Schwartz to turn the book into musical before a film, and how each of us can find ourselves, our better selves, in the eyes of a friend.

Four years ago in the midst of the pandemic, Jan started this podcast to share stories that reframe the way we live and look at life. It was a call for positivity in a sea of worries. This is that first podcast, a brief tale of the need to open our eyes and hearts in order to recognize the gifts that are all around us. Jan's voice has changed ever so slightly, as we all do. But the truth of the ta...

Certain individuals meet the moment and transform a game, an art, a life. We ignore the detractors and focus on the gift of such an athlete to inspire countless individuals, especially young girls. Jan shares how CC ignited his interest in women's basketball and a celebration of equal opportunity whose reality is as inevitable as this young woman's logo three-pointer.

There are moments following a loss where purpose dwindles and the future seems hazy. Some speak of it after a death, others after an election or a divorce or a heartbreak. Jan shares the story of a woman who experienced the worst of humanity's evil and personal loss. Impossibly, she was the brightest spirit he ever encountered. She taught him: "Don't die before you're dead."

Sometimes we need to exhale an old version of ourselves and inhale a new "me." Jan shares the story of Pharrell Williams meeting singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers in a classroom on music and the unique philosophy of creativity he espouses to the class that makes us all unique.

Robert Frost's poem Nothing Gold Can Stay challenges us to consider what is permanent and what is not in life. Jan shares his recent personal experience with the new musical The Outsiders o n Broadway and how a character's dying words quoting Frost illuminate the ongoing power of finding what truly matters.

Jan shares how his life intersected twice with the Nobel Peace Prize Recipient/noted author, Elie Wiesel, and the lesson Wiesel taught that can inspire each of us to live life as it could be.

The world is in dire need of stories that show how some people have met war and devastation with hope. The folding of origami cranes is said to bring the granting of a wish, for life, for recovery. Jan shares the story of a little girl named Sadako and a lesson of love and art to lift us all.

It is the week of the Jewish holiday, Sukkot, a harvest festival, sending out wishes to the world that all might have enough to eat and a place to live. A time for counting blessings and fostering hope. Jan shares the remarkable story of his meeting a muslim inside a dwelling built for this Jewish holiday and the power each of us can draw from connection.

This week is the one year anniversary of the terrorist attack on innocent families in kibbutzim and at the Youth Dance Festival in Israel. That violence began a cycle of loss of life on all sides. This year's anniversary is a day of memorial and silence, one that can lead to reclaiming what is most important about our lives and being true to our own values- a time of clarity and healing, of focusi...

At the changing of the seasons we feel change calling us. Jan shares two poems that speak to blessings in front of us if we will simply lift our heads and risk seeing, we will uncover possibility and miracles of humanity. In the words of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hirsch, "Hope Is Not Optional."

In moments of tragedy, we are called on to seek light. Jan shares the true story of 24 year-old Gili Adar who perished nearly a year ago, struck down by terrorists in a moment of dance. Her parents show us how essential it is that we remember, but more, they call on us to find 'slivers of joy' each day and to share them with one another. In such a way, we honor memories and create new light.

Being the first at anything, breaking long-held barriers, takes perseverance, audacity, and quiet determination. It also takes an ability NOT to take NO for an answer. Jan shares the story of Robin Herman, who helped lead a change in the reporting of Sports that helped transform the industry, and open doors for others, and that matters..

As some of you may know, as a young boy Jan met Maria Von Trapp on a visit to Stowe with his grandmother. Over the his formative years, she gave him a gift that has stood the test of time, one that can empower each of us to rediscover wonder and our own authenticity.

We know about Thoreau and Walden. Who knew his writing contained poetic ways of seeing the inner world of the mind and the heart? Jan shares the story of Thoreau's personal relationship with his mentor's wife and how it led him to discover that connecting to another human being can be a way to "splice the heavens?"

Sometimes, like the singer, Pink's, daughter, we feel ugly. We all have days like that. Jan shares with us not only Pink's words to her little girl, but ways to claim the perfect day, and rediscover love, beginning with ourselves.

Jan shares the true story of his involvement as a teenager in an ecumenical summer camp where he learned a lifelong lesson about Judaism from a big bear of a man, an Irish-American priest, Father Bill. It is a gift we all can share in today if we wish to create bridges of blessing within ourselves and for others..

Success comes in many cycles of life. Perhaps we recognize in the genius of others our own rejected thoughts. Jan shares a view of embracing the first step of our next success and calming the positive first step only we can take.