We often feel incomplete, as if something in us is missing. It can be true of others in our circle.

Jan speaks of a chance encounter he had with the great late playwright August Wilson as well as two monologues, one from Wilson, the other from Tony Kushner, that speak to what might be missing and the power of recovering it.

Part of life is love, and part of it is loss. Grief is a process we all encounter, a loss of the physical presence of a loved one due to death, dementia, the end of a relationship, or to an illness that has stripped away health.

Jan shares his own losses and imparts the wisdom of poet Mary Oliver on how to find the gift in grief and a pathway to hope.

This week, Jan is on Nantucket, that island thirty miles out to sea off the coast of Massachusetts.

One of his fondest memories from years back on another visit to the island is his chance encounter with one of the greatest film composers of all time, John Williams; a heart-touching connection that was both personal and truly inspiring. Enjoy!

Sometimes we're driving away, hit a direction signal, and forget to turn it off. Maybe it's not a mistake.

Jan reminds us that at times, we are being reminded to change direction. How? If we pay attention, music, laughter, and the people around us can often provide a much-needed answer.

Just as there are guidelines in our daily lives for school, business, or sports, there can be rules that deepen our souls. Jan shares the true story of a tavern older than America and how its archaic list of regulations gave birth to ways we can each heighten our lives and tap into its blessings.

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot celebrates the first fruits of springtime. Jan shares three poems that open us to the gifts nature gives us, and how we each can find human gifts in our everyday lives, there for the picking.

AI is increasingly being used to mediate loneliness nationally. Jan points out that recent studies clearly show nothing can replace the physical and mental benefits of human interaction. And each of us can do one simple thing this week to feel the power of those benefits and claim the good stuff we each deserve.

From our 80th episode:

Jan introduces you to a priest who one day taught Jan and a group of students a powerful truth on the steps of a Los Angeles cathedral. It made all the difference in the world back then, and has a powerful lesson for each of us today.