All That Matters

Having been wounded in life, one can be broken open in ways that make life deeper. Hidden in these recesses are gifts of light to help us and those with whom we interact. Jan shares his own wounds of wonder that left him weeping on a lake in Scotland and filled him with an understanding that has helped him live a life richer and deeper because of life's pain.

Some of us in life are broken by suffering and loss. Some are broken open, allowing light and healing in.Jan shares the true story of Yvette, a nun he met as a teen, who not only became a good friend but taught him and others how one might use their life's journey and hardships to rediscover purpose and the most important lessons of love.

Life is filled with the call of adventure. It can lift us to new heights, spiritually and physically. Jan shares the story of explorer Jacques Cousteau who explored the seas of the world and the personal connection by way of his brother Mark who once crewed for the renowned ocean explorer.

Sometimes we need a little help when the fire of meaning and purpose burn low within us. Jan shares the gifts three poems give us and how they help us resource ourselves to reignite the spark of living.

Jan shares a recent study on global well-being and explores the ways we might raise the level of our well-being through connecting to our values and clarifying our sense of purpose. In short: walking our talk.

Sometimes it's the wounds we suffer in life that lead us to the greatest enlightenment. Jan shares a personal story of a loss he suffered, and the weathered rocky perch on the Atlantic that taught him about the power of his own heart.

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.

rRemembering is a privilege and a duty that can elevate our lives. Jan shares a recent visit to Omaha Beach, meeting ghosts of D-Day and discovering the rich gifts of the spirit.

Celebrating the Small Wins is essential in finding the good stuff in life. Jan shares his personal sense of triumph at the 250 episodes recorded for this podcast (and counting) as together we celebrate all that matters!

A world without words would be a poet's nightmare. Jan introduces you to poet m. nourbeSe Phillip, a Canadian poet who challenges us to imagine what we are without life's gifts and, in so doing, helping us to find all that we can be when we realize what we do have.

At times life sends you a NO that we can either accept or turn into an even more powerful YES! Jan shares a recent meeting with a vivacious young woman, Ella, who did just that and, together with her wonderful partner, Florent, has fashioned an uplifting coffee shop in Paris serving terrific cups and a joyous dose of joie de vivre.

Jan celebrates our roots, the meaning of childhood experiences, and the way your own story can propel your imagination.

Retelling a story of his dad and late brother, Mark, Jan celebrates the incomparable love and gifts that they gave him, and calls on all of us to cherish the possibility of discovering light in the darkness.

Sometimes it is the wisdom of our wounds in life that provides us with a new lens on how to deepen our purpose and passion in living.Jan shares the parable of the miller and the farmer, and the power of paying it forward.

Sometimes forgiveness can be found in the most unpredictable of place and one is transformed.Jan shares the incandescent moment when he was wrapped in the wings of an angel, bridging years of injustice.

Many of us witness injustice in the world. Our pain can be real.How do we honor it? Jan shares his personal encounter with the world famous Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, when he interviewed him in Vienna years ago and how he taught him it's possible for each of us to bring a bit more justice into the world by 'being the light.'

It's the little things sometimes. Small, seemingly pieces of trivia, that allow us to understand and see things in a richer way. Jan shares several odd and fascinating facts we might never know about the world, along with a true story of how, with a scratch of a pen, a last minute change of name altered the course of history.

Life brings with it grief and loss that lead us to deepening our purpose and love. Jan shares the story of a hit musical recently featured on PBS in a new London production that reminds us how essential feeling "all the feels" of life can be to our health and to our hope.

Jan shares with us a recent visit to a dying woman and his interaction with her daughter and how, together, they discovered the best gift each of us has to give another at all times.

Witty, incandescent art that shakes the way you look at the world, that was the gift of composer, theatre artist, William Finn who died recently. Never heard of him? You have now.Jan celebrates the ways Finn's music and truth lifted his spirit and helped him reframe family, life, and love.

Our days can become so hectic and tension-filled, we need a shot of positivity. Besides this podcast, Jan shares suggestions from a variety of artists, designers, and writers, small ways we can each find an oasis of uplift in our daily lives.

At times we wrestle with darkness and despair. After all, it's part of life. Jan shares a personal story of a dying woman with whom he recently spent time and how she found balance and light in the lives she has touched, a hope and positivity expressed in poems he highlights on this week's podcast.

How do we use this element by which we measure life-Time? How we do brings meaning and purpose to our lives.Jan shares the precious advice his father gave him at the end of his life--a gift of love.

Those with autism can feel pressure differently than others. Jan shares the true story of two players on TV's reality show SURVIVOR, and how one person taking action to help regulate another can inspire all of us to reach beyond ourselves to help make the world more whole, bringing the healing of the human touch.

Every year several world organizations study the data to find where in the world people are the happiest and why? Jan shares the newly released latest findings and shows just how poisonous negativity can be and how powerful positivity is in changing the quality of our lives right now, today.

Recently, Monty the Giant Schnauzer won Best In Show at Westminster, the world's most renowned Dog Show. But did you know he could teach you Torah? Jan shares how one dog can inspire us to be the best version of ourselves!

Each of us wants to discover even more of the good stuff life offers. That good stuff often comes with empowerment born of wisdom gleaned from sacred wounds. Jan shares the ultimate question posed by Abraham Joshua Heschel, one that helps us see the invisible gifts right in front of us.

This past week the oldest known survivor of the Holocaust died. She was 113 years old. Jan shares the true story of Rose Girone. Her example of incredible, awe-inspiring fearless living, in the wake of the worst evil mankind can produce, is a gift and inspiration to us all.

How do we find our way when life sends struggle our way? Is there a gift we might find, if we can drain the pain?Jan shares the true story of a young girl who bravely shared her own gift born of illness and challenge and transformed her pain into a 'sacred wound.'

When we take the time to learn the rest of someone's story, it can make all the difference. Jan shares his childhood memory of broadcaster Paul Harvey and his story of a young man whose encounter with another musician would help the young boy go on to impact the music of the world.

Tuning out the chaos and madness of our daily lives, we find a tuning fork in poetry. Jan shares how his poet mother set him on a journey blessed with poems. With the words of poet David Whyte, he invites the listener to find the way back to our truest selves and the house of our own belonging.

With fear and rage all around is in social media and news headlines, Jan urges us to reframe our daily lives by asking a simple question: what's good about today? He provides a few keys as to how to find the good stuff and reminds us of key advice from Anne Frank, the Dalai Lama, and Audrey Hepburn.

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 Robert Louis Stevenson, Nelson Mandela and generations after.

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 tale he shares, remains. Enjoy!

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 on 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 focusing on blessings we possess and those we can yet make real.

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."