I kind of contemplating this following question, and I wonder what would you answer to the question: What gets you out of bed in the morning? And you know, I don’t mean your alarm clock, your coffee, or your to do list. I mean what gives your life a sense of a purpose? What makes you feel that your presence in this world matters?

This is something that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit over the past few years. I find myself searching deep inside for my own higher purpose. For most of my life, I was focused on building my business, achieving success, reaching goals, you know, moving forward, and I’m proud of what I have accomplished.

But lately, I find myself asking different questions. It is no longer about making more money, growing the business, or reaching another milestone. What I’m looking for now is something that feed my soul, and I found few of those. This radio program is one of these things that feed my soul, and there are more.

But the real, real question that I’m grappling with: How, how do I use what I’ve learned over the years? How do I share my experience with others? How do I help someone else grow or make some kind of a difference in someone’s life?

I don’t think I have all the answers. I’m still searching, but I’m beginning to understand that for me, the next chapter is less about what I can achieve and more about what I can give.

And this is why recent conversation between Simon Sinek and Oprah Winfrey caught my attention. They were talking about why, our why, our purpose, and the importance of serving others. Their conversation put words to questions I have been asking myself, and it gave me a little bit more clarity about what I’m searching for.

One part of the conversation led me to a TED Talk by Matthew O’Reilly, an emergency medical technician from Long Island. His talk called “Am I Dying?” And, and I highly suggest you give it a listen, like millions of others already did.

Matthew shares his experience treating people with life-threatening injuries, and one day a critically injured man asked him a direct question: “Am I going to die?” Matthew knew the injuries were fatal. Earlier in career, he might have avoided the truth hoping to protect the patient from fear, but this time he answered honestly.

What followed surprised him. The man seemed to find a sense of peace. Matthew began to recognize how important these final moments were to people. They wanted to make peace with others. They wanted to know they were loved. And they wanted their lives to have meant something to somebody.

After hearing Matthew O’Reilly’s story, I find myself thinking about what gives our lives meaning, and how often the answers that we’re looking for are found in the simplest things. For me, it’s always been music of all kind. And I can tell you this: that from the many comments I received from you, my listeners, I’m beginning to understand how much this program means to so many people. Some of you tell me how a particular song brings them back a memory, change their mood, or take them back to a moment in their life that they haven’t thought about for years. And that, that exactly that, for me, is what makes this journey so meaningful.

So tonight we will do what we always do on East to West. We will bring you some of the new music, some classics, sounds from around the world, and, and a surprise: a special conversation with Pavel Polanco. Wait until you hear this Latin jazz pianist and his story.

This is Eitan Battat, and I invite you to stay with me for the next couple of hours.