The Grandpa Channel: The Stories That Connect Us All

What is the meaning to life?

For Rivers, the answer showed up unexpectedly one Saturday morning on the way to his grandsons’ football games.

A man sitting cross-legged on the side of the road.

In this reflective solo episode, Rivers wrestles honestly with hypocrisy, compassion, faith, and the tension many of us feel when confronted with human need. Not from a place of certainty or moral superiority, but from the perspective of someone still learning how to see people more clearly.

This conversation explores:

If you’ve ever wondered:

…this episode sits gently inside those questions instead of trying to rush past them.

“We are family. He is my brother.”

Grandpa Channel is a storytelling podcast exploring one question:

Through reflective conversations and personal confessions, we gather the kind of wisdom that only time, loss, endurance, forgiveness, and faith can reveal.

Because sometimes what a lifetime reveals can steady another.

If you’ve ever found yourself asking what is the meaning to life—especially after things didn’t go the way you expected—this conversation with Kimball DeLaMare is one to sit with.

Kimball shares what decades of experience have taught him about life, relationships, and the lessons that only come from living through hard things.

There’s a moment where he reflects:

“Taking the easy way has propelled me into the hard way… several different times.”

And from there, the conversation opens up into something deeper.

This episode explores:

This isn’t a conversation about having everything figured out.

It’s about what begins to make sense after you’ve lived through enough to see things differently.

If you’ve ever asked:

this is a conversation that stays with you.

🎧 Listen and reflect.

Here's the next episode to listen to

{Journal Link}

In this episode:

Wayne Allred reflects on a lifetime of experiences that changed how he sees himself, his purpose, and his relationship with God.

What started as a quiet question—what is the meaning to life—became something more personal.

Through failure, faith, and moments of clarity, he came to a realization that shaped everything that followed:

That he matters.

This conversation explores:

Continue the conversation:

📓 Until It Starts to Speak Back (Journal)

🎧 I Would Have Walked Right Past Him with Glen Nelson

Moments where you feel like you’re feeling stuck in life… or even feeling trapped by life you didn’t choose.

And yet, something shifts when you realize:

You don’t have to have everything figured out in advance.

You can move forward anyway.

This episode explores:

It’s not about pushing through meaning.

It’s about discovering it—sometimes on the other side of the thing you were trying to avoid.

If you want to sit with this a little longer…

If this conversation stayed with you…

More from Emily Orton:

Try Living on a Sailboat for a Week *No experience required—and yes, you’ll take the helm. *Not a party charter. Not a certification course. *Small-group, hands-on sailing experience that’s been called the “unicorn of sailing trips.”

See if it’s your kind of adventure:  

https://www.theawesomefactory.nyc/sailing

Book: Seven At Sea 

There are moments where nothing feels obviously wrong…

In this conversation, John Brasher reflects on the kind of experiences that don’t seem big at the time—but end up changing your perspective years later.

A small decision as a kid.

These are the kinds of life lessons that don’t come from being told what to do.

And over time, they start to shape bigger questions:

What makes relationships successful?

This isn’t a conversation that tries to answer those directly.

But it might leave you seeing your own life a little differently.

If you want to stay with this a little longer…

If this made you think differently about how people change…

What does life teach you the hard way about suffering… and about hope?

Why is life so hard sometimes—and what does it actually mean?

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Rivers sits down with musician and artist Donovan Taylor to talk about mental health, resilience, and how people begin to find meaning in life through lived experience.

Donovan shares his journey through years of severe mental illness, including a suicide attempt that became a defining turning point in his life. What followed wasn’t a quick recovery, but a long and difficult process of rebuilding—through therapy, faith, creativity, and the support of others.

At the center of this conversation is a powerful idea:

that some of the most painful experiences in life can expand our capacity for empathy, connection, and purpose in ways nothing else can.

For anyone who has ever wondered what is the meaning of life, how to find your purpose in life, or how to keep going when life feels overwhelming—this conversation offers something more grounded than answers.

It offers perspective.

In this episode:

• What mental illness taught him about pain, identity, and healing

A few moments that stay:

“you’ve kind of been to hell and back… and it changes how you see people”

“there is absolutely hope… even if it’s just a small light”

“the word that keeps coming back is… unbreakable”

About The Grandpa Channel:

Stories about what life teaches the hard way—exploring what is the meaning of life through real conversations, lived experience, and the quiet process of making sense of it all over time.

Where to find Donovan:

Instagram: @donovantaylormusic

What did life teach you the hard way about fear… and about trust?

How do you find your purpose in life—and what is the meaning to life when everything changes?

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Rivers sits down with Erin Allen for a conversation that moves through disruption, deep loss, and the kind of faith that is forged in experience.

Erin shares the story of being prompted to face one of her greatest fears—skydiving—and how that moment became preparation for something far more difficult: the loss of her sister.

What follows is not a conversation about easy answers.

It’s about what it feels like to move through grief without turning away… and to discover peace in places that should have only held pain.

For anyone who has ever wondered how to find your purpose in life or what is the meaning to life in the middle of loss, this conversation offers something quieter than answers.

It offers perspective.

This episode explores:

• Why growth often begins at the edge of fear

Key Takeaways:

Fear often marks the doorway to transformation

Quote from the Episode:

“Erin, I need you fearless.”

About The Grandpa Channel:

Stories about what life teaches the hard way—exploring how to find your purpose in life and what is the meaning to life through real conversations, lived experience, and the quiet process of making sense of it all over time.

To learn more about the work & retreats that Erin & her husband offer:

https://www.thelightinus.org/

What did life teach you the hard way about love?

Why is life so hard when trust is broken—and how do you learn to love again without certainty?

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Rivers sits down with his close friend Art Brothers for a conversation that moves from childhood fractures to lasting commitment.

Art reflects on growing up through his parents’ divorce and how it shaped his relationship with trust, commitment, and fear. He shares what it took to step into marriage despite uncertainty—and what 43 years of marriage have taught him since.

The conversation expands into creativity, teaching, and the idea of “flow”—not as control, but as alignment. Art speaks about the role of humility, patience, and faith in finding that state, and why optimism can deepen with age rather than fade.

For anyone who has ever wondered why is life so hard in relationships—or what is the meaning to life when trust has been broken—this conversation offers something more grounded than answers.

It offers perspective.

This is a conversation about:

• What divorce does to a child’s view of commitment

Key Takeaways:

Divorce isn’t a single event—it echoes

Quote from the Episode:

“You decide… and I’ll bless you.”

About The Grandpa Channel:

Stories about what life teaches the hard way—exploring why life is hard, what is the meaning to life, and how people slowly learn to trust, love, and make sense of it all over time.

What happens when the life you expected… doesn’t unfold the way you thought it would?

Why is life so hard when nothing goes according to plan—and how do you find your footing when everything feels uncertain?

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Emily Snyder Burrup reflects on the moments that forced her to take full ownership of her life—from career pivots and long seasons of uncertainty to a defining realization in her mid-30s that no one else was responsible for her path.

Her perspective is simple, but not easy:

Own your life.

Through stories of faith, relationships, and personal turning points, Emily shares what it looks like to stop waiting—for clarity, for permission, for someone else to step in—and instead take responsibility for your own direction.

For anyone who has ever wondered how to find your purpose in life or what is the meaning to life when things don’t go as planned, this conversation offers something more grounded than advice.

It offers perspective.

This conversation explores:

• Why “own your life” became a defining principle

About The Grandpa Channel:

Stories about what life teaches the hard way—exploring why life is hard, how to find your purpose in life, and what is the meaning to life through real conversations and lived experience.

To learn more about Emily’s consulting work, reach out on Instagram:

@synderem

What if the people you’ve overlooked had something to teach you?

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Glen Nelson reflects on the lessons life taught him the hard way—from growing up as a chronically ill child to realizing he didn’t have to stay where he started.

After a life-altering experience with his daughter’s health, Glen began to question what really mattered—and shifted away from chasing things that no longer felt meaningful.

But it’s his perspective on people that stays with you.

Through simple, unexpected moments—a conversation at a bus stop, a stranger in a record store—he shares how easy it is to walk past someone without ever knowing who they are… and what changes when you don’t.

This is a conversation about curiosity, connection, and learning to see people differently.