Sara’s View of Life, with Sara Troy. On air from September 15th
Youth brings curiosity, fresh thinking, enthusiasm and the courage to challenge what has always been done. Maturity brings experience, patience, perspective and wisdom gained through both success and failure. When we combine the energy of youth with the lived wisdom of older generations, we become stronger and better equipped to create meaningful change.
Young people can inspire older generations to dream again, while mature people can help the young avoid unnecessary mistakes. Wisdom should guide enthusiasm without controlling it, and experience should be shared rather than imposed. We can tell you what worked, what failed and what we learned along the way, but how you use that wisdom must remain your choice. Every generation wants to feel heard, valued and respected.
Technology may sometimes divide the generations, but a shared purpose can unite us. Artificial intelligence is not going away, so we must learn to use it wisely, consciously and with healthy boundaries. I use AI as a helpful assistant to organize my thoughts and offer different perspectives, but the voice, opinions, heart, soul and spirit remain mine. Technology should serve humanity without replacing our humanity and earned wisdom.
Some people assume that as we age, we forget what being young was like or have little left to contribute. I remember my youth very well. Although illness has placed limitations before me throughout my life, I have always found the energy to do what I love. My body may slow me down, but it does not have to slow down my mind, heart, spirit or purpose.
I recently interviewed Giselle Roeder, an extraordinary woman in her nineties who survived Nazi and Russian rule, endured tremendous hardship, wrote three books and continues sharing her story. She may have physical aches and pains, but her memory, courage and spirit remain powerful. Her life reminds us that we are not defined by age or by what happened to us. We can discover our courage, strength and resilience and choose to grow from our experiences.
Mentorship should be a two-way exchange. Older people have something to teach, but young people also have something to teach us. Youth may move quickly, while maturity understands timing. The future becomes stronger when youthful imagination is supported by lived wisdom. You do not need to repeat every mistake we made; you can learn from our experience while still creating your own path.
We need great minds, mature minds and youthful, energetic minds to come together. We must look beyond power, greed and division and choose empathy, compassion, collaboration and love. Our differences are not weaknesses; they are the many flavours that make humanity interesting and whole.
What becomes possible when we stop dividing generations and begin combining their gifts? Young fire can become timeless wisdom. Let us look to one another, talk to one another and truly hear one another, because it is only when we come together that we become truly strong.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Sara’s View of Life, with Sara Troy. On air from September 8th
As summer ends and September begins, many of us are considering our next chapter. This is a time to begin something new, continue what we have started or take our dreams and projects to the next level. After 14 years as a professional podcaster, I have interviewed extraordinary people from around the world who discovered their purpose through life experiences, personal redirection or a cosmic two-by-four. They now share their stories, wisdom and practical tools to help others.
I often say, “Inspiration begets invitation.” When someone’s story inspires us, it invites us to explore our own possibilities. Plant the seeds of your dreams, water and nurture them, but allow them to grow in their own time. We may create the plan, but life often brings us the right people and opportunities when the moment is right.
If becoming a podcast guest is part of your next chapter, remember that preparation and respect matter. Send the requested information on time, learn about the host’s style, arrive promptly and avoid last-minute cancellations unless there is a genuine emergency. Come as your authentic self and lead with why you do what you do, not simply what you sell. People want to feel your passion, purpose and commitment.
A podcast is a collaboration and a powerful calling card. When people hear your voice and connect with your story, they receive a genuine sense of who you are. Share your interview through your website and social media, because even if a listener does not need your services today, they may remember and recommend you to someone else tomorrow.
My motto is: listen, learn and apply. If we truly listen, every conversation offers something that can change our perspective or redirect our lives. These are awareness shows, because awareness leads to caring, and caring inspires action.
One powerful example is my conversation with 92-year-old Giselle Roeder, who survived the horrors of wartime and escaped East Germany with her mother and sisters. Despite witnessing unimaginable violence and hardship, she refused to be defined by her trauma. Her story reminds us that we must listen to history, because when we fail to learn from it, we allow its atrocities to be repeated in different uniforms.
Alongside my podcasts, I am moving forward with Our Forgotten Seniors, an anthology honouring seniors’ accomplishments while addressing the financial, health, family and social challenges they face. The book will also encourage younger generations to prepare for their senior years. I am also gathering my sayings and life wisdom for a future Sara Says book.
I am especially seeking guests who can speak about Down syndrome. My grandson has Down syndrome, and this subject needs greater awareness and open conversation. Children with Down syndrome, autism, ADD and other forms of neurodivergence possess many gifts. They may learn differently, but they deserve understanding, opportunity and expectations that honour their unique abilities.
Whatever diagnosis or difficulty we face, we remain responsible for how we respond. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can choose what we do with it. Everything is a choice—even refusing to choose.
As we begin this new season, let us move forward with positivity, purpose and balance. Nurture your possibilities, care for yourself, support your community and become part of the solution. The tide is turning, a new consciousness is emerging, and each of us has an opportunity to help create a wiser and more compassionate world.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Sara’s View of Life, with Sara Troy. On air from September 1st
We don’t have to ignore life’s difficulties to embrace joy. Sometimes joy is exactly what gives us the strength to keep going.
We don’t have to ignore life’s difficulties to embrace joy. Joy is not pretending that everything is perfect; it is choosing to see that goodness still exists alongside the challenges. It can be found in laughter, music, nature, animals, friendship, gratitude, and the small moments that make our hearts smile.
Life will always bring responsibilities, uncertainties, and difficult days, but we do not have to carry their weight every moment. We are allowed to pause, breathe, play, laugh, and enjoy being alive. Sometimes joy is not the reward we receive after the struggle—it is the very strength that helps us move through it.
When we make room for joy, our energy shifts, our hearts open, and life feels a little lighter. Joy reminds us that even during challenging times, there is still beauty to notice, love to share, and something worth celebrating.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Sara’s View of Life, with Sara Troy. On air from August 25th
Did you hear that? I mean, did you truly hear it? Were you listening and absorbing what was being said? Did it illuminate, astonish or enlighten you? Did it reveal something within you?
That is what podcasting is all about, and why I have continued doing this work for more than fourteen years. I want you to hear the message—not merely the words, but who is speaking, why they are sharing and what their story can teach us.
I recently recorded an extraordinary two-hour conversation with Giselle Roeder, a survivor of the Second World War. As a young girl living in Eastern Germany, she experienced the destruction of war firsthand. Her family had lived a humble but loving rural life until the arrival of the Russian army turned their world upside down.
Giselle witnessed violence, displacement, hunger and unspeakable atrocities. Her father was taken away and sent to Siberia, along with other able-bodied men and women between sixteen and sixty. Her mother was left to protect and care for her children under horrific circumstances. Giselle was only eleven years old, yet the things she witnessed forced her to grow up far too quickly.
Her story is important because history continues to repeat itself—under different names, uniforms and circumstances. We see suffering in Ukraine, Gaza, and many other places around the world. We continue to say, “Never again,” but somehow we allow fear, hatred, division and the hunger for power to lead humanity back into violence.
Who wins a war? No one. The emotional, spiritual, economic and environmental wounds can take generations to heal. Yet, despite everything history has taught us, humanity continues to reach for weapons instead of conversation, understanding and peaceful solutions.
Many of the people I interview share stories of struggle, pain and loss—but also courage, resilience and healing. They faced the darkness in their lives and found a way through it. Those who embrace healing often emerge with a profound commitment to peace, because they know that peace is what settles the heart, spirit and soul.
Those who do not heal can become trapped in bitterness, blame and vengeance. Hurt people often hurt others. This is why listening matters. If we listened to people before their pain became rage, helped them discover their value and give them meaningful ways to participate, perhaps fewer people would be manipulated by those who use anger and division to gain power.
Our significance begins within us. It comes through our participation, contribution and willingness to take responsibility for our own journey. We cannot become significant in the world until we recognize our significance in our own lives. This is the journey of self-discovery, self-love and meaningful purpose.
Today, we have access to more stories, knowledge and guidance than ever before. People share their experiences through books, podcasts, talks and social platforms. They show us how they moved from darkness into light and found courage, compassion and hope. The wisdom is available—but what are we choosing to read, watch and hear?
We cannot claim ignorance when suffering is happening before our eyes. Awareness invites us to care, and caring calls us to respond. We cannot fight every battle, because carrying the pain of the entire world can overwhelm us. But we can choose something meaningful to stand for, something harmful to stand against and someone vulnerable to stand beside.
Standing with another person can make an enormous difference, even if all we can offer is the knowledge that they are not alone.
We do not all have to look, think or live alike. There are many colours in the rainbow of life, and every one of them contributes to its beauty. I do not care about someone’s colour, nationality, economic standing, gender or orientation. What matters to me is their frequency, their consciousness and whether they genuinely care about humanity and planet.
Are you listening? Are you truly hearing and seeing what is happening—or are you choosing to look away?
Please listen to my conversation with Giselle. It is long and, at times, difficult to hear, but her story needs to be remembered. If we believe such atrocities cannot happen again, we only need to look around. They are already happening under different labels and in different forms.
I believe we are kinder and more intelligent than this. I believe we possess the conscious hearts needed to choose another way. We must listen more deeply, pay attention and find something we are willing to stand for. We must push back against those who use fear and division for power while standing beside the innocent, the wounded and even those beginning to realize they have been deceived.
Let us stand together as one human race, regardless of colour, creed or origin. Let us place humanity, our planet and all life upon it first. Let us practise kindness toward ourselves and one another, because until we do, we will continue travelling down a path of destruction.
Until next time, I truly wish you love and peace. May you discover them within yourself and share them with everyone around you.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Sara’s View of Life, with Sara Troy. On air from August 18th
I recently saw the Van Gogh exhibit with Monet and I was transformed. The colours, the hues, the flow, the storytelling. If it comes to your neighborhood, please go and see it. I was so moved I wanted to do a show on them and Leo.
Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and Claude Monet did more than create extraordinary paintings—they changed how we see and understand the world. Van Gogh expressed deep emotion through colour, Leonardo united art with science and an endless curiosity about life, and Monet captured the ever-changing beauty of light and nature. Each faced hardship, criticism, and resistance, yet remained devoted to his unique vision. Today, we explore the men behind the masterpieces and discover what their lives can teach us about creativity, perseverance, curiosity, and remaining true to ourselves.
Vincent van Gogh: Painting what he felt
Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. Before finding his artistic direction, he worked as an art dealer, teacher, bookseller, and lay preacher. He did not seriously decide to become an artist until he was 27. Van Gogh Museum
Van Gogh experienced emotional and mental distress, loneliness, poverty, and periods of serious illness. His brother Theo supported him financially and emotionally, and their letters provide a remarkable window into Vincent’s inner life.
His early paintings were dark and earthy. After moving to France, his work became brighter and more expressive. He used bold colour and swirling brushstrokes to paint what he felt, not merely what he saw.
His best-known works include:
The Starry Night
Sunflowers
Irises
The Bedroom
His many self-portraits
Van Gogh created roughly 2,000 artworks, including about 900 paintings, yet achieved little financial success during his lifetime. He died in 1890 at only 37. His work later became some of the most recognized and valuable art in history. Van Gogh Museum
It is important not to romanticize his suffering. His illness did not make him a great artist; he created great art while struggling with illness. Painting gave him purpose, expression, and moments of healing.
What Van Gogh teaches us: Recognition does not determine the value of what we create. Sometimes the world takes time to understand a unique soul.
Claude Monet: Capturing light and change
Claude Monet was born in Paris in 1840 and grew up in Le Havre, Normandy. The artist Eugène Boudin encouraged him to paint outdoors and study nature directly.
Monet became one of the founders of Impressionism. The movement received its name from his painting Impression, Sunrise. Instead of painting every object with exact detail, the Impressionists captured light, atmosphere, colour, and the feeling of a passing moment. Musée de l’Orangerie
Monet often painted the same scene repeatedly at different times of the day and in different weather. His subjects included:
Haystacks
Poplar trees
Rouen Cathedral
The River Thames
His garden and Japanese bridge
The water lilies at Giverny
Monet endured financial hardship, grief, and failing eyesight. Cataracts altered his ability to see colour, yet he continued painting. His later water-lily works became increasingly expansive and almost abstract.
After moving to Giverny in 1883, Monet created the garden and pond that inspired his most famous paintings. His monumental Water Lilies panels were offered to France as a symbol of peace following the First World War.
What Monet teaches us: Nothing remains exactly the same. When the light changes, our way of seeing can change with it.
Leonardo da Vinci: The Man Who Wanted to Understand Everything
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, near the small Tuscan town of Vinci in Italy. This is where his name came from—Leonardo da Vinci simply means “Leonardo from Vinci.”
He was born outside marriage to a wealthy notary father and a young mother named Caterina. Because of his birth status, Leonardo did not receive the traditional classical education available to many wealthy boys. Yet this may have allowed his mind to develop more freely. Instead of accepting what books told him, he observed life directly.
As a child, Leonardo was fascinated by water, birds, animals, plants, rocks, light, movement, and the human body. Nature became his first teacher.
Becoming an artist
As a teenager, Leonardo moved to Florence and trained in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, one of the city’s leading artists. There, he learned painting, sculpture, metalwork, mechanics, and engineering.
According to a famous story, Leonardo painted an angel in one of Verrocchio’s paintings so beautifully that his teacher declared he would never paint again. The tale may have been exaggerated, but it reflects how exceptional Leonardo’s talent appeared to others.
Leonardo eventually moved to Milan, where he worked for Duke Ludovico Sforza. He presented himself not only as an artist but also as an engineer who could design bridges, weapons, canals, and buildings.
While in Milan, he painted The Last Supper, which captured the emotional moment when Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him. Unfortunately, Leonardo experimented with an unusual painting method, and the work began deteriorating within years of its completion.
The artist and scientist
Leonardo did not see art and science as separate. To paint the human body truthfully, he studied anatomy. To capture movement, he examined muscles, bones, animals, and flowing water.
He dissected human bodies and produced remarkably detailed drawings of the heart, spine, muscles, organs, and a baby developing within the womb. His investigations of the heart led to important observations far ahead of his time. Royal Collection Trust
Thousands of pages from his notebooks survive. They contain ideas for:
Flying machines
Parachutes
Bridges and canals
Military machines
Mechanical devices
Human anatomy
Plants, water, geology, and astronomy
Many designs were never built, but they reveal a mind constantly asking, “How does this work?”
Leonardo often wrote in mirror writing, moving from right to left. We do not know exactly why. It may have felt natural because he was left-handed, or it may have helped prevent the ink from smudging.
The mystery of the Mona Lisa
Around 1503, Leonardo began painting the portrait now known as the Mona Lisa. The woman is generally identified as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.
Leonardo used a technique called sfumato, applying very thin layers of paint to create soft, smoky transitions without harsh outlines. This helped make her expression appear to change as we look at her.
He apparently kept the portrait with him for many years and continued refining it. King Francis I later acquired it after inviting Leonardo to France. Today, it is housed in the Louvre and is considered the world’s most famous portrait. Musée du Louvre
A brilliant but restless mind
Leonardo imagined far more projects than he completed. His curiosity repeatedly pulled him from painting into anatomy, engineering, architecture, mathematics, and nature.
He produced relatively few completed paintings. Some patrons became frustrated by his slow pace and unfinished commissions. However, Leonardo was not simply procrastinating. He was continually investigating, reconsidering, and searching for a deeper understanding.
He did not want merely to paint the appearance of life—he wanted to understand the forces that created it. The Louvre describes his investigation of the world as the “science of painting,” through which he attempted to bring life into his art.
His final years
In 1516, King Francis I invited Leonardo to France and gave him a home at Clos Lucé, near the royal château at Amboise. Leonardo brought several treasured paintings with him, including the Mona Lisa.
His health declined, but he continued drawing, teaching, designing, and sharing his ideas. He died in France on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67.
What Leonardo teaches us
Leonardo reminds us that curiosity has no boundaries. He did not allow himself to be defined as only an artist, scientist, engineer, or inventor. He followed every question that awakened his imagination.
His life also shows that unfinished work does not necessarily represent a wasted life. Leonardo completed only a small number of paintings, but the depth of his observation changed how people understood art, nature, and the human body.
Leonardo’s deeper message: Never stop observing, questioning, learning, and wondering. The desire to understand something can be as valuable as the final creation.
In reflection
Leonardo da Vinci saw connections where other people saw separate subjects. Art led him to science, science returned him to nature, and nature deepened his understanding of humanity. Perhaps his greatest masterpiece was not any individual painting or invention—it was the extraordinary way he taught himself to see.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
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