Mark Nepo on What It Means to Live with an Open Heart | EP 713

Passion Struck with John R. Miles

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4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2026

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if living with an open heart, especially in times of loss, uncertainty, and division, is not a matter of willpower or optimism, but a quiet and courageous practice of presence?

In this episode of Passion Struck, poet, philosopher, and cancer survivor Mark Nepo joins John R. Miles for a deeply human conversation about acceptance, aliveness, and what it means to live with an open heart in a fractured world.

Drawing on his lifelong body of work, including The Book of Awakening and his newest book, The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, Mark explains that acceptance is not resignation but an act of cooperating with truth. Together, John and Mark explore why the heart is our strongest muscle, how immersion, rather than achievement, brings us to life, and why caring fully for what is right in front of us may be the most meaningful form of compassion we have.

This episode weaves together stories of grief, creativity, aging, and meaning. From feeding a dying parent applesauce to the metaphor of the meteor that burns away what no longer matters, Mark reveals how life becomes clearer when we stop holding back.

At its core, this conversation is an invitation to stay present even when life is difficult, to say yes to life even when it breaks us open, and to remember that our presence, here and now, truly matters.

Passion Struck with John R. Miles was recently ranked #1 on FeedSpot’s list of the Top Passion Podcasts on the Web, recognizing the show’s ongoing commitment to thoughtful, human-centered conversations like this one.

Check the full show notes here: https://passionstruck.com/mark-nepo-interview-fifth-season-book/

All links gathered here, including books, Substack, YouTube, and Start Mattering apparel

https://linktr.ee/John_R_Miles

For more about Mark Nepo

https://www.marknepo.com/

Pre-order You Matter, Luma

https://youmatterluma.com/

The Fifth Season Companion Resources

Practical reflections and contemplative prompts inspired by Mark Nepo’s teachings on presence, creativity, and aging with intention.

Explore the companion guide: https://www.theignitedlife.net/p/the-courage-to-stay-awake-to-life-mark-nepo

In this episode, you will learn

Why acceptance is not about giving up, but about cooperating with truth
How the heart functions as our strongest muscle and most reliable compass
The difference between nostalgia and the healing use of memory
Why dreams remain essential to aliveness in the second half of life
How immersion, not excellence, creates meaning and creativity
A simple question that reveals whether something is life-giving or life-draining
How the metaphor of the meteor explains why aging can bring greater clarity
Why caring deeply for the smallest detail connects us to the wider human story
What it means to say yes to life in a way that affirms that you matter
How widening your inner horizon helps right size fear, grief, and suffering

Support the Movement

Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter.

Wear it. Live it. Show it.

https://StartMattering.com

Disclaimer

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Coming up next on Passionstruck.
0:02.1	And if you're lonely, you say hello.
0:04.8	Get out of the house.
0:06.6	Doesn't mean that every interaction will be.
0:09.6	Some may be awkward.
0:11.2	Some may not work out.
0:13.0	Some may be irritated.
0:14.6	But you're engaged in life.
0:17.3	And so even as simply as instead of reading at home alone, reading a cafe where even if you never say hello to another person, you're around other life.
0:27.7	You're exchanging presence and energy.
0:31.8	So expand our sense of solitude to let others in so that the line between self and other blurs.
0:43.9	Welcome to Passionstruck. I'm your host, John Miles. This is the show where we explore the art
0:49.8	of human flourishing and what it truly means to live like it matters. Each week, I sit down
0:55.4	with change makers, creators, scientists, and everyday heroes to decode the human experience
1:00.7	and uncover the tools that help us lead with meaning, heal what hurts, and pursue the fullest
1:06.2	expression of who we're capable of becoming. Whether you're designing your future, developing as a leader,
1:12.0	or seeking deeper alignment in your life,
1:14.3	this show is your invitation
1:15.9	to grow with purpose
1:17.0	and act with intention.
1:18.8	Because the secret to a life
1:20.5	of deep purpose,
	...

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