Episode 1
Welcome to Boundless Moments, the storytelling podcast that brings sacred moments to life through the voices of those who lived them. My name is Nathan Houchens, I am a hospital medicine physician, and it is my privilege to serve as your host. This podcast is part of a greater humanistic project called the Sacred Moments Initiative, whose aim is to study, catalogue, and share sacred moments. Through this work, we seek to build a social movement of meaningful connection.
You might be asking, what is a sacred moment? This term has been used to describe a brief period in which people experience personal connection, powerful emotions, or spiritual qualities of transcendence and boundlessness. In these moments, it may feel as if time has stopped, as if the typical boundaries between us and others blur, and what remains is pure, unfiltered humanity. People who experience these moments are left with a sense of joy, peace, and empathy for the others involved and for themselves. These moments have the potential to profoundly impact our lives.
Sacred moments often arise in situations of great stress or beauty. They may emerge during the most challenging parts of our lives, since challenge is so often accompanied by meaning.
• A physician silently takes the hand of a patient who has experienced a long hospital stay and, through this simple act, forms a lasting bond.
• A patient who has felt misunderstood for years breaks down in tears after finally feeling heard when a nurse-in-training listens intently and seeks to understand.
• A social worker bears witness with a grieving family as they prepare to say their final goodbyes to a loved one.
• A mother holds her newborn child, feeling time slow as she ponders the miracle of new life.
• A mentor and a mentee share a conversation that, while fleeting, plants the seeds of inspiration and leads to a fruitful, fulfilling career.
These moments are not confined to healthcare or to any one place—they happen in hospitals, homes, schools, and even in solitude. You might experience a sacred moment alone in nature, listening to a song that stirs your soul, or through the simple companionship of a beloved pet.
At Boundless Moments, we gather to share these sacred moment stories that reveal the golden thread weaving us together. Moments will be recounted by the people who lived them and will often be followed by a conversation – an opportunity for reflection or a deeper dive into the ways in which the moment left lasting impressions. Sometimes we’ll share multiple stories in one episode. In others, we’ll invite experts in the field to help us make meaning together and better understand the significance of these experiences. Regardless of the format, every episode is an invitation to pause and appreciate the expansive power of shared humanity.
We would love for you to be part of this movement, and we would be honored to hear your story. If you have experienced a moment of grace, connection, or empathy that changed you, we invite you to submit it for consideration to be shared on Boundless Moments. By sharing, you not only contribute to a collective celebration of human connection but also inspire others to recognize and cherish the sacred moments in their own lives. To discover more about sacred moments and to share your own story, please visit sacredmomentsinitiative.com.
Join us as we delve into those brief moments that uncover the transformative power of compassion, the profound beauty of vulnerability, and the unyielding resilience of the human spirit. Through heartfelt tales and the conversations that follow, discover how ordinary encounters become extraordinary.
Nathan Houchens, MD