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Beauty isn’t a filter on life; it’s a way to understand it, and ourselves. 

Jack sits down with Artist-photographer and author Erik Stensland to explore how a season of crushing burnout in the Balkans led him toward solitude, quiet attention, and a life reoriented by wonder in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Together we unpack why silence feels unbearable at first, why many of us would rather hit the metaphorical shock button than face our inner world, and how a simple practice—ten phone-free minutes in a forest—can begin to settle the mind. 

Eric explains the difference between loneliness and chosen solitude, and how beauty, understood as goodness rather than glamour, becomes a practical guide for daily decisions. We also dive into desire: not suppressing it, not indulging it, but tracing it to the deeper longing for meaning, belonging, and purpose.

If environmental news leaves you frozen, EriK offers a third path beyond doom and denial. Inspired by John Muir, he shows how falling in love with places fuels lasting care and healing... paying attention, telling small stories, buying less.

Ready to test it for yourself? Put the phone away, take a quiet walk, and notice one true thing. If this conversation moves you, follow, share with a friend who needs a breath of fresh air, and leave a review so more people can find their way back to beauty.

Visit Erik and Purchase "The Journey Beyond, Learning to Live Beautifully in a Troubled World" and the shipping is free:)

Read Jack's Latest "Directing Our Passions and Desires to a Love that is Beautiful" Here are the links to Jack's Substack and  X https://x.com/JP2Renewal

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