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Come walk with me and my daughter Jess Janz at Buntzen Lake. We talk about how getting outside supports our mental health, impactful moments by the ocean, and what it means to pay attention to ordinary life. Jess shares stories about her writing poetry, and taking the time and having the courage to get to know her elderly neighbour.

Jess Janz on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jessjanz/

Jess Janz on Substack - https://substack.com/@jessjanz/posts

Rod Janz - https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/

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Ari Neufeld shares a deeply honest story while walking along the shores of Okanagan Lake. What begins as a simple conversation about favourite hiking spots turns into something much more powerful. Ari reflects on a childhood shaped by daily encounters with nature, the pressures of a faith tradition focused on the afterlife, and the inner turmoil he carried as a teenager. At fourteen, he set out alone in the hills near Lake Kalamalka, hoping to make sense of his identity and his place in the world.Through raw vulnerability and surprising beauty, Ari describes how nature became a teacher, a mirror, and a companion. Today he continues to learn how to let go of the pressure to be a star and instead honour the life he has.👉 Ari’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/arineufeld/👉 Rod’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/Music: Licensed, paid for royalty-free track Epidemic Sound

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Making Friends with Grief

In this walk and conversation, coach and musician Nico opens up about losing his wife, Ingrid, to cancer and what grief has looked like in the years since her passing in 2014. He talks about how the grieving began long before she died, how peace eventually found him, and what it means to make friends with your grief instead of trying to escape it.

This is not a story about fixing pain. It is about facing it, feeling it, and learning to live beside it. Nico reminds us that grief is not something we get over. It changes shape, softens, and moves through us like waves. Sometimes it still knocks us down, but over time, it also teaches us tenderness and strength.

If you have ever lost someone or walked alongside someone who has, this conversation will meet you where you are. It speaks to love, letting go, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going.

👉 Nico’s Instagram👉 Nico’s Linktree👉 Rod’s Instagram

Timestamps00:00 – Talking about Ingrid’s passing00:56 – Grief beginning during her illness01:12 – Grieving before death and finding peace03:00 – The waves and triggers of grief04:14 – Facing emotions and finding relief

Photos by Rod Janz and @nicogroove on InstagramMusic licensed via Epidemic Sound

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Sometimes peace comes disguised as a dirt path beside a creek. Nico Boesten walks along the Mission Creek Greenway, talking about how this trail has carried him through everything from childhood wonder to adult heartbreak. You can hear how much it means to him in the way he describes it, like the place itself has been a witness to his life.

He talks about how nature settles him, how it slows his pulse and softens the noise in his mind. It is not a big spiritual lesson, just something he has learned by being there. The way the light moves through the trees. The smell of cedar and damp earth (on the West Coast). The steady sound of water.

Once, he cried in a forest because it was breathtaking. Another time, he saw a cloud shaped like Africa and took it as a sign to go. He actually did.

Listening to him, you remember that healing is not a grand event. It is a series of small connections. It is a quiet walk, a bit of wind, and the rhythm of your steps. Nature does not ask anything of you. It just reminds you, in its patient way, that you are okay and still here, still breathing, still part of something steady and life-giving.

Timestamps00:00 – Mission Creek Greenway and early memories02:00 – Mountain biking, risk, and resilience03:00 – Moments of wonder and beauty in nature06:00 – Nature’s calming power and nervous system reset09:00 – Seeing signs and finding peace in the natural world👉 Nico’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nicogroove/👉 Nico’s linktr.ee → https://linktr.ee/Nicogroove👉 Rod’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/

Today’s conversation with Peter Reek is about seeing midlife as a beginning. Peter sold his company, returned to school, and wrote Shift. He explains why changing how we think about aging can change our experience of it. We talk about stillness, curiosity, and radical acceptance. We talk about his recent walk on the Portuguese Camino, blisters and all, and reflect on coaching, community, and what gives life meaning.

Three takeaways

* Midlife is a design opportunity.

* Stillness lets meaning surface.

* Questions often do more than advice.

Peter’s book

* Shift: 7 Mindsets for an Inspired Midlife — Peter Reek

Peter’s work & platforms

* InHabit.Life

* InHabit Magazine

* Shift Sessions (event) - Sold Out

In this conversation, my longtime friend Esther Hizsa shares a thought-provoking story about her father.Near the end of his life, he had a dream, one of those restless, anxious dreams where you’re trying to get something done but can’t. When he told Esther about the dream, he said it was terrible, full of struggle and frustration.Then Esther asked him about his favourite memory, and he surprised her with one from a long time ago: coming home from the factory on Christmas Eve. Snow was falling, candles flickered on the tree, and he said, “I knew I was coming home to someone who was on my side.”Esther’s website: An Everyday PilgrimInstagram Rod: https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/Inquiries (Coaching, Social Media Marketing, Podcast Production): [email protected]

Esther Hizsa shares how time in nature has become both her prayer and her healing practice. During our conversation, she reflects on finding God in everyday beauty, when she was a child by the creek and the realization that walking itself can be prayer. Rod and Esther explore belonging, mental health, and the quiet ways creation reminds us that we are loved and never alone.

Instagram Esther: https://www.instagram.com/estherhizsa/

Instagram Rod: https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/

Inquiries (Coaching, Social Media Marketing, Podcast Production): [email protected])

In this episode of Let’s Go for a Walk (And Talk), I meet my friend Neal Black on the Houston Trail in Fort Langley, British Columbia.

Neal talks about how walking in nature helps him heal, think, and reconnect with God. During the long months of COVID, this trail became a sanctuary. He came here with his wife, June, to walk and talk when everything felt uncertain. Nature gave him room to think and to be still.

Neal shares how he uses walking to work through challenges. Sometimes he talks aloud to God or to himself. It’s his way of sorting things out and finding perspective.

When his brother died, walking became a way to process grief. Nature didn’t fix the pain, but it made space for it.

As a coach and mentor, Neal often walks with clients. People have insights and remember the exact place where they hit.

For Neal, the trail itself is a teacher. It reminds him that you don’t need to see the whole path ahead to keep moving.

Follow along: Rod’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/

In this conversation, Andy Harrington, Executive Director of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, shares life in Ryder Lake, BC, his work on the front lines of global hunger, and his personal journey of grief and hope after losing his son, Chris.

From stewarding forested land and creating a memorial garden to witnessing the impact of aid in South Sudan and Gaza, Andy offers an honest look at perseverance, compassion, and what it means to make every moment count. He also recalls powerful encounters in nature—from the northern lights to the vast stillness of Namibia—that continue to shape his faith and perspective.

A story of loss, resilience, and the fight to end hunger, this episode will inspire you to see hope even in the midst of crisis.

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Follow along: Rod’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/

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In this inspiring trail conversation, Mitchell Schat opens up about his first year of teaching, the steep learning curve, and how being in nature helps him find peace, presence, and perspective.

Along the hike, Mitchell shares the story of his prayer tree, the importance of play, and how time outdoors has become a powerful anchor for his mental health and spiritual growth.

If you’re interested in hiking, mindfulness, spirituality, or outdoor mental health, this video will encourage you to slow down, embrace the moment, and discover the life lessons nature has to teach.

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Follow along: Rod’s Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rjanz/