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I won’t wait for heaven; I want it right now. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

The stoics bring all the boys to the yard. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

My marriage for a decade now. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Reciprocity is critical in relationships. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

I’m sorry I brought song lyrics into this. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Being nuts isn’t so bad. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Keep me honest but let me sing. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

The one thing that helped me through a stressful period. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

What do you do when you’re scared of making the wrong decision? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Maybe the answer is leading from the heart. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

How do we stay connected to something greater than ourselves when our dog gets sick, a war erupts, and the entire world is...? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

My life recently proved it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Plus a little pep talk. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Mere pennies will make you rich; or, The Story of a Stolen Coat. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

As one recently said: Chick, please. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Literally and otherwise. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

Embrace the swirling, disorienting present. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

I relish the opportunity to pause. And to invite others to pause with me and enjoy the richness that each person offers. I find endless value in anything that explores the wholeness of people in a truer way. I’m really interested in the divine spark that I believe exists in everything around us — every person, every living element — and I love the fact that if you open the door for people, hand them a microphone, and tell them you’re listening, you can almost always see that divine spark shine through. Welcome back to Let’s Talk, a series of conversations about life’s biggest questions. Today, I’m grateful and excited to share the final episode of season one! As this season comes to a close, I wanted to pause and reflect on what these conversations have represented about the experience of being a human in the world in 2020. To help me take a look back, I invited John Young Shik Concklin to return to the show. In this episode, John and I explore what I’ve learned from interviewing people about living through a pandemic. Despite everyone’s differences, beautiful themes emerged. We also talked about creative process and my own experience getting through this year. We discussed the reason I love dinner parties, how I access new ideas and potential, the necessity of unplugging, and why I love hearing about the messy unfolding of people’s lives over the tidy narratives they’ll be telling in five years. This project has been an absolute pleasure, and I’m grateful to every guest for being part of it. I can’t wait to see what form Let’s Talk takes next, but in the meantime, enjoy the show. Listen above or find us in your favorite podcast app. On whether or not the pandemic is a life-changing event: I don’t know if I was redirected to a different version of myself, or if I was just accelerated to a truer version of myself that was always going to emerge. It’s impossible to say. But I can say with certainty that this pandemic has shaped the paths I see for going forward. John asked what I learned from interviewing people about living through a pandemic, and I responded: This has been so invigorating and inspiring… All of these people have different experiences, anecdotes, stories, and perspectives. But what I loved were the themes that emerged in all of them. They are telling of the human experience, of what it means to be a person trying their best in the year 2020. While discussing those themes, we talked about hope: In the words of Mariame Kaba, prison abolition activist, hope is a discipline. It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of all this chaos. Staying committed to Martin Luther King’s arc of justice is one way forward. Choosing to see the good, even when it’s hard — that’s a discipline. On the future of Let’s Talk and WE’RE ALL FRIENDS HERE: I’d like for this to be a place where people can think about the big questions that we don’t always have time to think about elsewhere, that aren’t highlighted in mainstream outlets. I’m seeing more and more people turn their gaze towards those kinds of questions, almost like a gentle but collective awakening. I’m interested to see where that path guides all of us. If you enjoyed our story about Also Sprach Zarathustra, you can have a listen here. I’ve interviewed nine thoughtful people about living through a pandemic this year. We’ve had so much fun. Check out Let’s Talk wherever podcasts are found! WE’RE ALL FRIENDS HERE runs on donations from people like you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

I believe in the timing of things. I believe we all have a reason for being. So I am trusting that whatever is happening now is leading us all to our greater purpose, and we’re just living it out daily. Welcome back to Let’s Talk, a series of conversations about life’s biggest questions. Today, I’m very happy for you to meet Blair Knobel, my sounding board and trusted confidante. Blair Knobel is the editor-in-chief of TOWN, a Greenville, South Carolina-based monthly lifestyle magazine on the arts, culture, style, and society of the progressive South. A food lover, sky watcher, and frequent traveler, she is also a soul searcher, over-thinker, and hopeful dreamer.  In this episode, Blair and I explore how darkness often highlights its counterpart, light, why honesty has become so critical this year, and the power of nature to heal on a personal, but also collective, level. We talked about divine expression and the interconnectedness of life, along with our desire for a soothing, inclusive version of spirituality that represents more than just one thing. Blair also shared what solitude has illuminated for her this year; quietness, it seems, helps her get to the heart of what life’s all about. Blair’s thoughtful perspective on living through a pandemic holds essential wisdom that relates to everyone, and I hope you enjoy it. Listen above or find us in your favorite podcast app. As Blair and I discussed nature’s healing potential, she offered: Everything is cyclical. Nature mimics that in so many respects… There’s so much around us that’s telling about infinity and how we are connected to it. The quietness of this year has helped Blair explore the spiritual on an evermore personal level. She explains: I enjoy the experience of quiet, especially when I’m in nature or a space where I’m able to quiet the mind… I have felt a depth that it’s becoming more apparent to me we all have access to. …Because the pandemic has created space to be with myself, and in nature, it has revealed that there is something always keenly pulling, always there, and we are connected to something much more pronounced and greater than our day to day.  When asked what she’s learned about herself this year, Blair muses: I’m seeing myself more keenly, perhaps… I’m getting used to my quirks. You’re living with yourself, in a pandemic or not, and you might as well love you who you are. Blair and I agree that, in many respects, this year has stripped everything down to its essential nature — the curtain has been pulled wide open. As a result, we are called to act on many fronts, and it’s up to us to do so. She adds: It’s understanding what you have to do and then simply taking the action to do it… and trusting that the action, the path, the grander gesture, will lead to something good. …We have a daily choice. What is the higher choice? I’ve interviewed nine thoughtful people about living through a pandemic this year, which has been deeply rewarding. We’ve discussed fear, joy, and the big issues of our time. We’ve also laughed a lot. Check out Let’s Talk wherever podcasts are found! WE’RE ALL FRIENDS HERE runs on donations from people like you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com

You can get into a rut of constantly wondering what the next thing is — am I going to get it, am I going to make it, whatever that means — but there’s enough to go around. If you focus in the moment, then you have all you need. Welcome back to Let’s Talk, a series of conversations about life’s biggest questions. Today, I’m thrilled for you to meet John Young Shik Concklin. John Young Shik Concklin is a conductor, violist, and nonprofit advisor based wherever the work is. As a conductor, he's served on the faculties of Vanderbilt, Furman, Clemson, and Converse Universities, worked with numerous orchestras, including the Nashville Symphony and the Atlanta Symphony, and conducts the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Music Project, an organization for music-as-social-change. As a nonprofit operative, he advises organizations, political campaigns, and governments on public policy, strategy development, and data analysis. John also holds a seat in the Greenville Symphony Orchestra as a violist and co-founded Mozart for a Cause, an annual benefit concert, with me. Spoiler alert: John and I are married. In this episode, we explore how it felt to have the rug pulled out from under him as an artist last spring and why he believes in making music — even now. We also talked about his zen approach to career, or how he cultivates trust in the long game, despite the future of music being uncertain. We discussed how hard — and rewarding — it has been to try to shape a life around our values and remain dedicated to that path together. When it comes to racial justice, John talked about impacting his personal spheres of influence and how he thinks people and organizations might attempt values-level change. We explored ways the virus has made today’s big issues acutely obvious, and why art can’t thrive until humans can count on basic things like survival. We also talked about the importance of inviting people to be part of the revolution rather than shaming them, which interestingly, is the same approach he uses when standing in front of orchestras. Making music, he says, is a people business. Listen above or find us in your favorite podcast app. When exploring whether or not art is truly essential in the world as we know it, John offers: Covid has blown the lid off all the things that were already plaguing us. We live in the 21st century, in the richest country in the world. Why are some people worried about survival? That shouldn’t be a thing. So why would we expect anybody who’s struggling to survive to show up to an orchestra concert? That’s got to be the last thing on their mind. He adds: It blows me away that there were so many people, pre-Covid, that in spite of working hard and being good people, were devalued by whatever capitalist economy we have that says they’re not worth survivability… It seems inhumane. And then we wonder why art can’t thrive. It’s because, as a society, we hold weird, barbaric values that are the antithesis of humanity. John also reflects on how his relationship to music has changed as a result of this pause. He still spends hours learning music each week: Because I’m not conducting, the scores I’ve been learning have, in silence, somehow become more alive and vibrant. And maybe it’s because I miss standing in front of orchestras. But if you do these pieces over and over again, it’s hard not to remember the last performance, the sound of the last orchestra. Because it’s been months now, I start to imagine new sounds, which has been fun. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this conversation and want to hear more thoughtful people exploring the big questions of our time, check out earlier episodes of Let’s Talk wherever you get your podcasts. I’ve loved every single one. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenmaxwell.substack.com