Soul SiStories
Soul SiStories was born out of a mutual desire to bring forward hope and healing through sharing our lived experiences. Hope is embracing life despite adversity. Hope is our reason.
Soul SiStories
Finding Inspiration: Kirk Lane's Journey of Hope and Connection
Have you ever encountered a simple white feather and felt an overwhelming sense of hope wash over you? Join us as we explore how the smallest symbols of hope can guide us through life's challenges. In this episode, we share heartfelt stories and personal journeys that highlight the transformative power of storytelling. Discover how listening and being present can foster a sense of belonging, and learn how seemingly mundane experiences can be infused with love and hope.
Our guest, Kirk Lane, offers insightful perspectives on inspiration and the meaning of life. Kirk, who is not only a talented musician but also actively involved with Clarity Experiences, shares his journey from aspiring to join the military to finding passion in soccer and, eventually, a thriving career in music. His narrative is a testament to finding purpose through action, demonstrating how embracing new opportunities can lead to profound fulfillment. Through Kirk's story and the stories of others, we are reminded of the power of gratitude, vulnerability, and supportive relationships in our journey of personal growth.
We also reflect on the importance of building meaningful connections and the lasting impact they leave on our lives. By sharing these experiences, we aim to inspire our community to connect, support, and uplift each other. Whether it's mentoring young people or simply being present in the moment, these acts of kindness enrich our lives and those around us. Together, let's spread hope and continue this journey of storytelling, inviting you to engage with us on social media and become a cherished part of the Soul Sisteries community.
Thanks for listening to Soul SiStories. We hope you follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Five-star ratings and reviews always help to spread our message of hope.
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Welcome to Soul Sisteries. Okay, well, sis, that was so much fun to talk with our Kirk, who's sitting right here, but we're going to pretend like he's not, although he could be part of the discussion.
Speaker 2:La, la, la la la la there you go, yeah, we'll pretend, but you could be part of the discussion also. La la, there you go. Yeah, we'll pretend, but you could be part of the discussion also. No-transcript. So this was kind of a fun thing for me to, I guess, get to know you a little bit more than just I don't know who you are professionally, I guess.
Speaker 1:You know, I think and I'm so glad for that, and I'm glad that we had this opportunity and did this but I think also in the bigger picture, of even why Soul Sisteries exists. I know, for me, I'm always fascinated by people's stories and the depth of experience, and every single person in this world, walking this planet has profound, beautiful, funny, humbling, all the things stories that connect our humanity, that connect our humanity, and I think this discussion with our Kirk here was exactly that, showing. Here's somebody who there are going to be people who know you because they follow your music, they're a part of your world and what you do, but you also don't have a million followers and whatnot. You're not in that plane, but you're a man who has been living a profoundly meaningful life, whose story has import and is worth sharing, and this just touches me so deeply and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think you know it's interesting, because that is. This podcast is about hope, but it's through stories, it's through people's experiences, and you know we've used the word lived experience, but you know, what have you experienced that gives you hope? And how do you bring hope to others? And I know, when we first started talking about this, you know we came to this through our grief journeys. But hope isn't only needed when there's grief, when there's trauma. Right, I mean, the world needs hope and not just in the US. You know, the world needs hope and it comes in so many different forms. And you know, I think that's what is really important to hear this. This is very different than you know, maybe our first interview, maybe different than what some of our other interviews are going to be, but it's. Everybody brings something to, I guess, to lift them up, but also to lift others up, and that's really kind of what I'm hoping that we use this medium for.
Speaker 1:For sure. And also, I think, when we really drill down to it, what is the meaning of hope? So we talk a lot about hope for a better world, hope for a better time, and it's yeah, we can reach better times, but then the nature of life is, there's going to be some crap times after that also.
Speaker 1:So then, what is hope? Because we don't just get to this place and then the angels sing and all is well. So, as Kirk was sharing about the hope in the action, the doing, the reaching out, the making connections, the growing right, the hope is in that, because that is the life and the breath and the love, and that is is what gives this time meaning. Yeah, that's the answer right there.
Speaker 3:The story is, to me, the answer, and I think that's one thing that we didn't touch and thank you, that was an amazing cause. It was kind of it was therapy for me, um, but I love everybody's story and and you know, I guess if I had a chance to change some answers, I might say this to some of the questions that you asked me is, everyone has a story and that story is so important and so many people don't get to tell it and so many people don't listen. They don't listen, they don't listen. They all think that we're this wonderful thing on the screen and that we're the perfect picture and the edited version that goes out there, and sometimes the story is. I stubbed my toe today and it hurt like crap and it has bummed me out the entire day, made me crabby, and it made me crabby and I just need to tell it to somebody and I need someone to give a poop and I think, honestly, that's really one of the things that I really gained, especially from my mom, is listen to the story.
Speaker 2:And the really cool thing I think about stories is that they're fluid. Mm-hmm, and the really cool thing I think about stories is that they're fluid. The story you tell today is not necessarily the same story that you're going to tell tomorrow or next year, and so it is certainly okay to change your answers. If hope is blue for you today, that doesn't mean it's going to be blue next week or next year, and your story and how you remember your story and how you tell your story is going to change. The one concept that I'm looking for and I know we've talked about this in our own lives, donna is like hope through our lives, and we have these. Sometimes it's little pockets of hope, sometimes it's just little specks of hope. Other it's big, massive mountains of hope. But how does that propel us kind of forward while we're living in the moment, of course, but not drowning in whatever's going on when we stub our toe? Today?
Speaker 1:Hope is there Hope is always there. It's so interesting. Remember we got in the car this morning, you and I, sis, and I was talking about my quote, my hope quote. I always go to Emily Dickinson and hope is the thing with feathers, and right there center of the windshield was a big old white feather waiting for us. The hope is always there, the signs are there, life is there, love is there.
Speaker 2:No birds around, just that white feather is there yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, we certainly hope that you enjoy this upcoming episode. Weird to talk about myself, but I'm so thankful that everyone that's out there that's listening is along for the ride, and obviously thankful for you two again. And I'll continue to say it, and I think we always should continue to lift each other up. We always should continue to lift each other up and I love that we had a chance to learn more about our stories and I certainly hope that other people become hopeful listening to it.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Soul Sisteries. We are here today with our wonderful guest. We're so grateful to have him here and also that he said yes to being an engineer for our podcast. We have the wonderful Kirk Lane, and welcome Kirk.
Speaker 3:Um, so, uh, I uh, this is, yeah, this is kind of where I'm at right now, and I sense that we're going to straighten some things out that I don't have quite worked out in my brain yet. So, but I'm I'm glad to be here. You know, guys, we talked about a little bit offline. You know, I'm a person that that embraces positive vibes and good stuff, and I've always felt that from you, donna, and your family, and you're just guilty by association. So I'm really excited about not just now, but just what's coming in the future.
Speaker 2:Well, Donna, I kind of introduced you as the engineer, you know, slash producer of this little endeavor we have going here. I'm wondering if you'll just share with us kind of a little bit about who you are, what you're doing, kind of where your life is today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so. I'm in my life and the important things. I'm a son, I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a son, I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a brother, I'm a producer, I'm a musician. I'm a lot of things. I'm Kirk and I think that's ultimately what I want in life is, I want people that I've had the pleasure of interacting with or to speak my name, think of my name, and hopefully it brings them a smile, a good memory, and, even if it's a tough lesson that maybe had to be learned, uh, you know. So I think that's what I I am or what I aspire to be.
Speaker 3:Um, I need to stay active. So I do a lot of things. People tell me constantly like how do you? You're, do you? You're here and you're there and you're playing and you're doing this and you're doing that. And if I wasn't, I just wouldn't, I don't think I'd be Kirk. So what I am is someone that's glad to be here, that is thankful for all the roles that I mentioned, and hopeful that I can bring that hope through action, through lived experiences, through interaction. That's, I think, my own description of myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like it. I like it. You know, as you're talking, I want to say we also have a history that we didn't even know. That goes way back when because I think we're off by maybe one or two years where I might've been your middle school teacher, because you went to the middle school where I taught way back in the day, cause that's your hometown.
Speaker 3:I grew up in Apple Valley, California, and it was an amazing experience. And, yeah, you know, I, I I don't want to call it the Al Bundy, but I loved high school. High school was amazing to me. I grew up in a small town. My parents owned the sporting goods store in the town, so we knew everybody.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I knew that store. I knew that store, having lived there a few years.
Speaker 3:So I mean honestly, I really credit that small town upbringing with. You know a lot of who I am today and it's just such a great fond memory. And you know, with my work I travel a lot and I always make sure that if there's someone in town that I know, especially from the high desert, I'd make sure and spend time with them. I was just in Portland last week and I went to. I'm a big soccer fan and ref and coach. All those players did all that and so we went to a Timbers game and we were high school players, soccer players, and I hadn't seen him since our 20 year reunion, I think. So it's been quite a bit. The week before I was up in Santa Barbara, ventura, and visited some friends that lived on the same street as me, and I'm going to Atlanta next week and I'm going to be visiting with a friend that I haven't seen in a while. So you know, to me that small town really helped me understand what it was about my parents owning their own business and, you know, being someone that, from when I can remember, was working, you know whether it was taking out the trash, sweeping, you know whatever. So there was always a sense of pride in what I had to do. And then this is not a slag on my mom and dad, but they worked a lot and so my brother and I had to spend a lot of time raising each other right. It was a much different time and you're not as necessarily overwhelmed or concerned with all the things.
Speaker 3:Did the laundry? We, we did, you know. We cooked, we did all that, in fact, you know, we did all the, we did all the lawn work. We did all that stuff that, of course, my parents ended up once we left, you know, paying someone, and we'd come back and go how come the air conditioner's on, how come everything's clean? And we didn't well, cause, you know, our, our labor is gone. But it made me appreciate it, right, it made me appreciate what I, what I have. In fact, I didn't want a house for years because I knew the upkeep that it took. I just wanted a little apartment that I could go in, so like just that, that whole you know realm. But yeah, no, it's, it's. It's funny that that that we did come back around to Apple Valley and all things lead back to the high desert.
Speaker 1:Isn't that the truth right.
Speaker 2:So you already started kind of talking about your upbringing and your Apple Valley, which to me kind of I just remember small town, living at least back then. I'm sure it's grown up quite a bit now but what brought you to where you are today? In this you know musician and producing and yeah, it's my whole life.
Speaker 3:I'm thankful and obviously give tons of credit and honor to the upbringing you know, specifically to my parents and the people that I was around and the mentors along the way. I mean so many mentors, teachers, coaches, just you know, just great mentors and I've always considered myself a sponge and I'm always soaking things in, even at this age. And when I first was in school, I thought I was going to be in the military, I was going to go to one of the military academies and I was set on that. I military history and just I it was that's what I wanted to do. That's what I aspired to do. Grandparents fought in you know, the great in world war II. I had some other relatives that were in the military and we lived around a lot of military bases in the high desert and my parents did a lot for them because they did, you know all the t-shirts and all that other stuff. So we were going to Marine bases, army bases, air Force bases, we were going to all these bases all the time. So it was just I really thought that's what I was going to do and I was, you know, very much overweight kid and not very, you know physical or athletic.
Speaker 3:And I found this sport, soccer that nobody had heard of back in the you know 70s and 80s. And so I you know dad signed me up for T-ball and I can remember crying like, literally falling on the ground at his feet, grabbing, going no, no, I don't know the fear, I just. I didn't feel like I could do any of it Right, and so he signed me up for soccer. Well, you know what? That was something I could do, right, because there was really no expectations, because nobody liked it, so I could do whatever I can go out there and pick daisies, and I was a superstar. And so I did that.
Speaker 3:I started, you know, getting fit and I started feeling confident about that, always been a big music fan, always been somewhat technically, you know, adept, and so, I think, once I realized I wasn't going to go that, uh, the military route, I was, I want to be a teacher and I want to be a soccer coach. So I went to school, I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to get to, you know, play in college, and I was going to get my history degree and I was going to be a coach and a teacher. And then, um, uh, along the way, I um had my first kid and, as those things tend to do, um, they change plans a little bit and, um, you know, I was okay with that. And so I was in college and a good friend of mine's father owned a production company and he called me up and he said, hey, we really need some help for some of these upcoming shows. I had already been kind of starting to play as a musician, so I wasn't afraid plugging things in, and so, you know, I was ripe for that.
Speaker 3:And here I am, 30 plus years later and, oddly enough, the friend that you know that I started in the industry and his dad I now still currently work for him he's the CEO of the company that I'm in and we're still great friends and I'm still great friends with his father, who is an amazing mentor of mine. And you know, and the great thing is is here I am doing podcast stuff, cause I'm not afraid to set this up I I help out at our theater and and, of course, my wife's a teacher, so I've always been the resident audio visual tech at her schools and and kind of whoever just asked me to help. I'm, I'm always, I'm always thankful to help, and the jobs allowed me to kind of travel all over the place and meet a lot of great people and do a lot of great things, and also things that weren't so great but that I've learned and grown from it's just life right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the path. So, you know, we were talking a little bit about the fact that we've got a tagline here for our podcast, which is hope through dot, dot, dot, and we fill that in for each person we talk to. And we were talking about, well, what's your hope through Kirk? And we kind of forced you to land on what sounded like everything that you were talking about, which is hope through action, and that's exactly what you were just describing. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? What is that for you?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I mean, I'll just break it down simple. I love sitting on the couch and watching a good movie or whatever, but there's nothing that fills me up like getting up, putting the harness on my dog and going for an hour-long walk and listening to a book or a podcast or music or whatever else just doing something right. There's nothing like jumping in the garage and cleaning it up or, if you have a big task at work, and just doing it, and so I think I've always had that example. My parents own their own business. It's not an easy thing to own your own business, so I had that inspiration in front of me and I'm fidgety and I can get easily distracted, and so, to me, doing things just always brought me not just joy it brings me joy but it brought me completeness. Is that a word Like a?
Speaker 1:satisfaction.
Speaker 3:I felt good about it. You know that, old, you attended the farm and you woke up early and you were so exhausted at the end of the night that you just went to sleep and then you reflected, and then you went up and you did it again. And you know, listen, I don't pretend for a second that I don't live an amazing life. I don't. I'm very lucky. But I think part of that has come from my need to do. You know, it's that, it's that it's just, it's the accomplishment, it's the.
Speaker 3:I'm a visual learner, I'm a do learner, and so that that's kind of been my approach to so many things. And then you know, hey, I'm stubborn, and and I'm far less stubborn now than I was younger, and I think I'm thankful for that, because I see too many of my friends that are stubborn for stubborn sake, and just, I know it all and you're wrong. And why does it have to change? And what well? It has to change? Because everything changes, just like you change your damn underwear every day. Right, it's just something you have to do.
Speaker 1:I mean presumably, presumably, right, it's just something you have to do. I mean presumably, presumably.
Speaker 3:So you know again, I, you know, yeah, I could easily when I'm on the road. I could easily just go to bed every night and be done, but I would prefer to go to the soccer game or I'd prefer to go to the show, or I'd prefer to go see a musical, or I'd prefer to go to the show or I prefer to go see a musical or I'd prefer to go and see what's the cool spot in that city. And I would most definitely want to go and reconnect with someone that brought me joy younger in life or a younger point in my life, and and just to bring that up again and then maybe hopefully inspire them a little, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So it sounds like you live a very kind of like action-driven life. You know, not that you don't relax, but that you're going to accomplish things right, and so I wonder what your like life philosophy is. You know, if somebody asked you what's your philosophy of life, is it you know, never stop, I don't know. Is it you know, never stop, I don't know.
Speaker 3:No, Jokingly, I used to tell people you know, aim low, because if you hit straight off you're in a good spot.
Speaker 3:My life philosophy is to live. To put it simply is to live. We wake up every day and there's job Number one I woke up. It's a pretty dang good thing, yeah, and I can make a lot of decisions from that time that I wake up, and sometimes I pick up the phone and check and see what's going on in the world, or whatever, and get. But sometimes I get right up and I get after it. But at some point during that day I want to make sure that I did something for myself. I did something for the ones that I love, and that I did, did something for my dog and did something for, you know, the people that I'm around, whether I know them or not. And yeah, living, that's my philosophy. Living.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, definitely that was true, and I sat down with you some weeks back just to say, hey, my sister and I have this plan and we knew you knew about the podcast world and maybe you can give us some insights. And you were right away I'm in, I'm going to support this, I'm going to be a part and we're going to make this happen. And so you leapfrogged us quite a bit.
Speaker 3:You know it's listen, I'm so, as I've mentioned, I'm always going to be so thankful for, you know, the people in my life, the. You know the fact that I feel like I have the gumption to get you know, going every day and to do something. You know, we're all in this together, whether we want to be or not Right, and there's a lot of crappy choices out there. There's a ton of crappy choices, personally, professionally, on all different levels Right, and I've always been thankful that those that I try and surround myself, whether they do it directly, indirectly, they lift me up, whether that's the goal, or but I like being around people, I like being around things, I like doing that.
Speaker 3:And so, when, when we had this discussion, I know how not just myself but my entire family has benefited from you, Donna. Um, well, you know, let's talk about superstars, let's talk about the, the productions, let's talk about the book club. You, uh, you know, invited my wife to and and the friendship that has developed from there. And the you know this, this partner, that I have to know that she has someone like you in her life, Right, Well, I appreciate that, but listen, she, she's one of the greatest people I know.
Speaker 1:You're not going to get an argument from me, and I consider myself lucky.
Speaker 3:So I just I just need to say that you, your family, have always been so supportive of our family, my family, and so I know what you have and I indirectly know what you have and I'm excited to know more about it. I really am, and so, as I go through this journey, if I can have people like you in my life and that you could be in my kid's life as you are and you can be in my wife's life as you are, thank you. You're in my parents, right, yeah?
Speaker 1:Good egg your pop. I lost my pops, yeah you were there.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah and um, and because I'm surrounded by such amazing people, I'm not afraid to cry, and it is one of the most um fulfilling things you can do as a human.
Speaker 1:It will bring emotions to yourself that you really can't experience with any chemical, any distraction or whatever else, and so I'm thankful for the many women in my life my mom, to start off with my wife hell, my ex-wife my kids, all the examples, my mother-in-law that, hey, we're just here and we just need to embrace your emotions and feelings and do good, and so I'm thankful for that Well let me ask about that, though, because I know from what you've shared with me that this was not always your path to be so closely connected and so vulnerable and so present and so real that there's there's conscious choice and action here too, yeah yeah, no, I, you know I'm a.
Speaker 3:I'm a kid that grew up in the seventies and the eighties and I said things and did things that I'll regret for the rest of my life, whether it was a racial slur, whether it was sexist. You know, unfortunately I did all that, conscious or not, I did it, and I did for acceptance and I did it because that's the pathway that I thought we all needed to go down, right, and it never felt good, yeah, but what felt good is when I could talk to my mom and I could tell her about my day and I could tell her about the fears or anxieties or the problems that I had. And you know, mom didn't tell me what to do. She just listened and accepted and said you're a good person and you're going to do the right thing. And if you don't do the right thing, you're going to learn from it and you're going to go fix that.
Speaker 3:And and then you know, experiences like that and just you know, always have been connected with those that just kind of go beyond those superficial things that are all there and I get it. I mean, to this day there's still that. You know, you kind of got to fit in and I'm not a person that needs to go out and tell the world what all my beliefs and everything are. Okay, my beliefs are just spend time with me and follow me and watch me. You'll know what my beliefs are. I don't need to state them, I don't need to stamp them, I don't need to put a label, I don't need to do any. My beliefs are we're here for a short time. Live life. We're in this together. It just feels so much better when we can have a discussion like this and feel good and and and not feel I'm okay with being vulnerable. I'm okay with hard questions. I'm okay with crying. I cry too much, I don't know. There's people that are going to be like I can't keep it together, but that's fine. I I'd much rather have that than the ability not to right and too many people just keep that all inside. So, yeah, thankful, live life, just do it. All of these things are present in in front of me and I am thankful that I have the motivation, mostly on a daily basis, to go after it, because there are all those times, like you mentioned, and I think that's one thing that I've done now older you know, than when I was younger because you just feel like you just go on and go on and go on.
Speaker 3:I'm very intentional about my time off alone or to reflect or do whatever. Now I mentioned my walks with my dog. That's part of it, right, it's physical. You're outside, You're giving this little four-legged being the opportunity to go out and do whatever he needs to do and at the same time, I can enrich myself by listening to the birds Not the band, but the real birds or music, or a book or a podcast or any of the other great things. That that's nice. You know that we could have right in our palm of our hands. So like trying to use that for good as opposed to just let my brain rot away. And but then there's times when I get back from a show and I try not to book too much, but there's also limited time for other things. So you just you do it and you find the other time to rest, but I'm intentional about my rest. What I do need to.
Speaker 3:I really I love and embrace and know the importance of therapy, yet I don't go to therapy. I don't have a therapist. You're my therapist, my dog is my therapist, my wife is my therapist, my music is my therapist, but none of those. And I think that's the next journey and, like, honestly, part of my motivation for helping you guys with this is to get over that next step in my life and find the right pathway to that therapy, because I think it'll make me a better person.
Speaker 3:And if I can be a better person, then I feel like I could be a better producer for this podcast, I can be a better father, I could be a better husband, I could be a better musician, I could be a better comedian, I could be a better whatever the F I want it to be, and and so so, going back to your earlier question, that was part of my motivation as well is like listen. I haven't quite figured out how to jump that hurdle, but if I can sit in and listen to you guys, I mean sorry, I'm going to just put it all out there I feel like I'm going to gain from it because I know this stuff. But I don't know this stuff.
Speaker 3:Right Point, I'm pointing at you for the world that doesn't know, I'm pointing at these two amazing individuals that are sitting next to me.
Speaker 1:So I mean that's super cool, but isn't it interesting that it seems to be? It's always the good people in the world who want to know how to be better people.
Speaker 2:You know that's an underlying thing, but but there's always value in going to therapy. So of course you're not going to hear me question that, but yes, yeah, so you, you mentioned, you know maybe some people are going to listen to you, you know, getting choked up and teary-eyed and kind of think, like you know what's this guy doing. What do you think you, as a young boy, would say to yourself? Now, you know, if you were, you know 13-year-old Kirk, seeing what you're doing and who you are now as a dad, as a husband, you are now as a as a dad, as a husband, as a producer, a musician. What would 13 year old Kirk say?
Speaker 3:Um, you know, I I would hope that 13 year old Kirk would just say keep it up, right, because I I felt like I was a doer when I was young too. Because I felt like I was a doer when I was young too, I think I would just tell myself to keep it up and stay positive. I think that's important, but stay realistic.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was and am and always will be just there's so much to learn every day.
Speaker 3:There's so much to learn, and I hope so. There's my answer Don't ever stop learning, old Kirk. Don't ever stop, Don't, ever stop. It's, it's, don't, it's. There's always room for more.
Speaker 3:There's always room for more, and there's also room for there's also you know, there's and this is another thing that's really really, really important to me and I think I've learned from many mentors is also let it go, don't, don't hold onto it. You know, identify that it's an anxiety, or identify that it doesn't make you feel good, or identify whatever it is, whether it's a memory, whether it's a feeling, whether it's whatever. But it's okay to let some of that stuff go, and I think that's a hard thing. I'm very much a pack rat as a person, right, I still have all the letters that have ever been written to me, you know, by the whole box of them. You know my wife makes fun of me every time and she should, but it's just those. Someone, someone took the time to write me a letter to tell me their feelings and I value that. I valued it then and I value it now. Now it's important for me to keep a couple hundred, you know, old pieces of writing paper in my garage. It isn't it's the memory, it's, it's all of that. It was great during COVID when we had a lot of time and I went through and I read a lot of that and I just went. You know what, kirk, you were. It seems like you were a pretty good guy when you were a kid and just keep that up. Um so, um so.
Speaker 3:But one thing I've found now as I'm getting older, like I'm definitely getting much better at letting go right and letting go of those you know, and I got to tell myself. It's an anxiety, like I just went through this whole garage cleaning thing, right, and it's like it's taken me five years to get motivated to really do the project the way that it needed to be done. That was a long five years that I could have got a lot of stuff done during that time but I didn't and I just whatever was motivated recently to make it happen. And so there's these boxes and stuff that's going in the trash and stuff that's going to, you know, goodwill or whatever else, and like there was a time where I would just be, like my heart would be aching and then, instead of looking at it as I'm losing this, I looked at it as I got so much out of this for when I had it, but it's been sitting here in my garage doing nothing.
Speaker 3:Maybe it's going to bring joy to somebody else, um and and so that that process as you, as I get older, I had all these great things. I don't need these great things as much as anymore, as much as I need this conversation and this time with you guys and this ability to hopefully in our future episodes to get some other guy out there that is struggling with something, to give them the motivation to, to find that help and then hopefully be good for themselves. But I always I said it earlier I think off. You know, before we started recording, there's no joy like lifting somebody else up. There is whether they know it, whether they acknowledge it, whether you know you get an award for it or you get. There is nothing like seeing someone that you've had the ability to lift up, to lift them up, find themselves and go out into the world and make it a better place for not only themselves but the people in their immediate sphere of influence.
Speaker 1:That's exactly it. So you were talking earlier about the things, the ways in which I relate to your kids and the involvement there. That's why that's a big, why I do a lot of those things. It's a win-win. It all comes around and there's so much that I get out of that service and support. But, anyway, not about me, but yeah, amen to that, Amen to that. So in this journey, have you come away with like a life philosophy? What did you put on the T-shirt? The Kirk T-shirt Like this is the thing.
Speaker 3:There is very much a comedic side to me, right, and so my initial reaction to many things growing up has been deflection through comedy, right, nice. So my, my initial response would be the front of the shirt says been there, done that, and the back of the shirt would be can't wait to go back. That is awesome. And whether that meant traveling or whether that meant me walking down the street as a I don't know eight-year-old, nine-year-old kid and going two blocks up to the Hanson's house, this elderly couple that lived on our street, and they didn't really have anyone, right? And I don't remember the circumstances and I don't care what the circumstances are.
Speaker 3:What I remember is that if I was feeling anxious and mom and dad were at work or Darren, my brother, was gone, I would go up to the Hanson's and you know what. I'd get milk and cookies or I'd get something, and I would get treated like an amazing individual and I just wanted to spend time with someone and whether we played a game or talked about or what you know, I had the chance to be there and do that, right. And then I was talking about the cleaning up and I pulled out some of the cards that they used to send me, pulled out some of the cards that they used to send me and I go. I'm so thankful that, as a kid, I just wanted to spend time and be with people, whether they were my people or not my people there, cause we're all people and we're all each other's people, I think if people really realize that we wouldn't have as much crap as we have going on.
Speaker 3:So um, I think is you could obviously code it however you want. Been there, done that. Can't wait to go back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just have to say that's so much like you sis. That's the person you've always been.
Speaker 2:Mine were the Allensons.
Speaker 1:I did the same thing around the corner, about six doors down to the Allensons the exact same, but also walking home with the mailman and going around the corner to the senior home and hanging out there and adopting grandparents. And that was you as a kid, doing these things and always have been that person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a piece of, I think, kirk you bringing hope into your own life but also kind of disseminating that hope to somebody else, right? So you were there with that couple around the corner or down the street and you helped them and serve. It might not feel like it right now, but you served a need for them and allowed them to service you also.
Speaker 3:And that was so valuable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So how do you hope to be remembered at the end of this journey?
Speaker 3:I hope to be remembered.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I hope to be remembered, and I say that directly because, as I mentioned earlier, I think it's the same answer that when you think of Kirk, when you think of those interactions, I certainly hope it's something positive, even if I may have done something stupid. There's a strong chance that that happened or said something stupid, or you know. I do certainly hope that people think back and go. Man, I really enjoyed spending time with Kirk, that you know. Maybe it inspires them to go there and do that and do it again and lift people up too. Yeah, I hope people feel like they gained something.
Speaker 1:However, minute, and yeah, you have to know that you have already laid down such strong foundations with so many young people. You talk, I know you just sort of off the cuff and we have these other strays and you we've adopted one. You have a number of young people who you've literally brought into your home, as well as your own children and my son included in this whole. You've directly mentored in this world of audio engineering and there's he has a great foundation of um, not only the actual functioning, the tech tools, but how you show up for things and how you approach them professionally. That he's gotten from you and that you have to know that there are many young people like that.
Speaker 3:I hope so and I do, and there's also an ego part of me, that kind of needs that, because I believe my fulfillment doesn't just come from just that immediate doing stuff for yourself and doing for others and doing for others, but there is that need to to see those that you've spent time with. Like to the question, what do I hope I'm remembered for Is that is that, yeah, it's hard and it's difficult and you're going to get judged and you're going to judge yourself and you're going to do all this, but none of it really effing matters when it's over. All's we have is right now. That's the only real thing that I think is guaranteed is the moment now, and that's the driver. And I want the world young, middle, old I want them to know that the moment is now. Do it, you will be rewarded. I want them to know that the moment is now. Do it, you will be rewarded tenfold in so many different ways. You will be enriched in so many different ways. So I appreciate you saying that, in being that person that shows up and being that person that is the go-to, and that anyone who I'm fortunate enough to know or be friends with or family with, that you call me and I'm there and that's all there is to it.
Speaker 3:So, and and right, we're parents, you know, of course we're. What do I want from anyone? It's time, and we get so focused on. My time is so precious and my time is so valuable and I can only give you this much. And we talked about the Hansons and that's all they wanted was time, Right, they just want someone to acknowledge, know that they were there. And I got time from my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my godparents, my cousins, my friends going up, my teachers, my coaches Every single one that I've interacted with has given me their time, and it's such a precious commodity and they gave it freely, and I feel like they gave it willingly, or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself, at least that's what I'm going to tell myself, and I would hope that many people embrace that philosophy and took it. Because you know what, no matter if we're playing tic-tac-toe or having a really deep conversation, that time together it should fill you up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah it you up, yeah, yeah, it's everything. Yeah, should we hit our rapid fire questions? This is the thing. It's the thing in our podcast. We think you know is the thing that we're going to do is to have this series of questions. We're just going to ask them and you throw out your answer and you can talk about them or not, just say what the thing is and on we go yeah, got it, perfect, perfect, all right, sis hit it.
Speaker 2:What color is hope?
Speaker 3:Blue, blue.
Speaker 1:Nice, what does hope sound like?
Speaker 3:The hope is the air, hope is the way, the hope is the sound of life.
Speaker 3:Hope is all of it. Hope is is the senses to me, and and I take all those senses in and it becomes hope for me, because when I smell an amazing batch of cookies, I'm so hopeful that they're going to be amazing and I'm going to eat them. And when I, you know, when I hear a lone musician playing an instrument and is creating music, whether it's theirs or somebody else's, it's music and it gives me hope. And when I see the sun shining behind the clouds or reflecting off the water and sometimes you can capture it, you know, in a picture out of the airplane, every flight, just to remind me, especially if I'm above the clouds and that I get to see this little round thing spinning around with all these billions of people doing stuff on it. And just for a brief moment, I'm just up in the sky, 30,000 feet, with a couple of hundred other people and we're just getting to a destination so that we can be there and do that. And so that's my long answer.
Speaker 2:What's your theme song?
Speaker 3:Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. That's so fun From Monty Python. If you know it, you know it's not necessarily the most inspirational song in the world, but in context it's my theme song and I can't whistle very well, so that just makes it even.
Speaker 1:That's so good, all right. So what would your 13-year-old self say to you? Is the one we asked.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so what would you say to your 13-year-old self from this perspective?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, I'm sorry but I got to steal the other answer which, by the time this comes out, will be out to the rest of the world so that I can say that. But when we recorded and you asked that question of Brianna and it was keep it up, because you, I'm not me if I change the course of that learning and that experience, and so you know, the keep it up and I'm proud of you, I think is important and you know my parents said that to me often Lucky and yes, oh, yes, and so many people along the way, right, yeah.
Speaker 2:So yeah.
Speaker 3:Who inspires you? We don't have enough time. Who inspires me is those that are in my presence that are, you know. Of course, if they're is, they were motivated and inspired by something and they just. They have words of wisdom from Ron Lane Bumpa. They all poop with their pants down around their ankles. Sorry for the visual, but you could be beautiful, amazing, rich and whatever else, but at the end of the day, you still got to do the same things that I do and, like I'd mentioned and I hope is a theme you know, we're all just people here and we just got to be together. So so I, I, everyone inspires me.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 3:Everyone, everything.
Speaker 1:That's well then.
Speaker 3:That's kind of a simple or two, but I hope you understand.
Speaker 1:No, totally understand, or two, but I hope you understand no, totally understand it, and it's very much a part of who you are. I mean, there's intentionality around that also. So, okay, we did a little Python reference a moment ago. So what's the meaning of life for Kirk?
Speaker 3:Wow, to me is to breathe and live. And yeah, I could expound and and say all these wonderful things, but, you know, someday was when I'm having a crappy day and I'm mad at everything and I just want to, you know, break something. I, the meaning of life for me is not the same at that moment. I, the meaning of life for me is not the same at that moment. It's not so. The meaning of life for me is to live.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:And all that entails.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how about a fill in the blank? Your word was action, so action is what?
Speaker 3:Is oxygen.
Speaker 2:So action is the breathing and the air. So action is the breathing and the air. So action is the life also Okay.
Speaker 1:That's profound. It is Well okay, Bring it on home.
Speaker 3:For us with hope is Hope is knowing that there you, whether you know it or not, that there is someone or something or a being or an energy out there that cares for you, loves you, wants all of the amazing things for you, and hope is giving that person energy or whatever it is, the opportunity to embrace it and be that light of hope.
Speaker 2:Very good. So obviously you're doing a bunch of things. Right now I haven't been able to see you except for what you've posted on Facebook. So if people want to see you um, you know, doing a gig as a musician, if people want to connect with you for your producing and your engineering skills.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, um, you know, so, for my music I have a couple of different areas. I have Kirk Lane music, and that's both on Instagram and Facebook, and then I play in a band called the Daryls and my name is Larry and you're my sister Daryl and my other sister Daryl, and so for those of you of a certain age group will understand exactly where that came from. So we are the Daryls and Instagram, facebook, youtube, and you know we get pretty regularly, um, so that's good, and I do the solo acoustic stuff and most recently doing a duet, um type thing with with a good friend of ours, alison, who's just one of the most talented uh voices and and amazing individuals that's out there.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I'm just hopeful and thankful that we were able to finally figure this out after you know, being, uh, you know, in close proximity over the last couple of years. So so those are. You know, those are the things that you can go to. Um, I work for a company called clarity experiences and and I love this company and it's as important to work hard and play hard and just embrace life and do all those things. So, yeah, so those are the places that you can follow me and find my gigs and all that other stuff.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you so much yeah thank you, it's been fun to spend time together.
Speaker 3:It is. It's amazing and I'll reiterate it over and every time I get the chance to say this I'm so hopeful and thankful out there that are going to benefit from the amazing insights and life experiences that you and I know. The people that you're always going to be selective, that you bring on, you know to hope. Maybe you give them a little bit of inspiration or, at the very least, just some little reflection and hey, we're on this journey together and it could be difficult sometimes. So I want to thank you guys especially for creating that light and letting me change the batteries every once in a while.
Speaker 1:Thank you friend so much fun.
Speaker 2:Yes, yay, thanks for joining us today on Soul Sisteries.
Speaker 1:And thanks for sharing stories with us. We'd love to hear your stories as well and keep the conversation going, absolutely keeping the hope going. So we're really hopeful that you'll connect with our guests as well, who have great stories to share. Go ahead and follow them in various social media platforms or live venues, wherever it is that they're performing and sharing what they do.
Speaker 2:We would love to have you follow us on all of our social media platforms, subscribe and rate, as that will help us get our message of hope out to others. Thanks for listening to Soul Sisteries.
