Month: August 2025

To Nature ~ A Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Altars in the Fields: Finding Sacredness in the Everyday

What if the divine wasn’t locked inside temples or texts—but whispering through wildflowers, sky, and soil?

To Nature

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

It may indeed be fantasy when I
Essay to draw from all created things
Deep, heartfelt, inward joy that closely clings;
And trace in leaves and flowers that round me lie
Lessons of love and earnest piety.
So let it be; and if the wide world rings
In mock of this belief, it brings
Nor fear, nor grief, nor vain perplexity.
So will I build my altar in the fields,
And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be,
And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields
Shall be the incense I will yield to Thee,
Thee only God! and thou shalt not despise
Even me, the priest of this poor sacrifice.

Source

Reflection:

In To Nature, Samuel Taylor Coleridge invites us to see beyond the visible, to sense the divine in the wind, the petals, the open sky. His quiet defiance of worldly mockery—his insistence that joy and piety are found not in grandeur, but in simplicity—offers a radical idea: the sacred is always near. He builds his altar not in stone, but in soil. His cathedral is the sky. His incense, the wildflower’s fragrance. This is not fantasy—it is profound faith. In grief, in joy, in wandering, nature offers us small signs that we are not forgotten. The poem challenges us to be both reverent and imaginative. If the world scoffs, let it. The soul still sings. Even a broken heart can worship.

Questions to Dive Deeper:

  1. What personal “altars” have you built in the world around you—moments or places where you feel closest to the sacred?
  2. How might seeing nature as holy change the way you move through your day?
  3. What parts of your life have you dismissed as “too small” to be an offering? What if they weren’t?

Light for the Journey: Live So Fully That Death Has Nothing to Take

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What if you lived so boldly, so beautifully, that death became not a thief—but a quiet witness to a life well lived?

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. `Tecumseh

Reflection:

Tecumseh’s wisdom isn’t just a quote—it’s a way of life. He invites us to live so fully, so respectfully, so beautifully, that when our time comes, we meet it with dignity, not dread. His words remind us that courage isn’t just found on battlefields—it’s found in how we treat others, how we honor our own beliefs while respecting theirs, and how we shape our days with meaning. When we commit to love our lives, perfect what we can, and serve something greater than ourselves, we don’t just prepare for a good death—we create a noble life. The real challenge? Living each day as if it were part of our “death song”—a melody of honor, service, and love that echoes long after we’re gone.

🌱 Day 1: The Invisible Tug-of-War Between Stress and Your Health

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Your body keeps the score—and stress is the invisible opponent keeping it behind.

Stress isn’t just “in your head.” It’s in your bloodstream, immune system, digestive tract, and even your heart rate. Chronic stress acts like a slow-burning fuse, impacting everything from inflammation levels to hormonal balance. Studies link long-term stress with elevated risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and even impaired immunity (Cohen et al., 2012). This series will uncover how stress affects your body and mind—and how understanding the cause-and-effect relationship is the first step toward taking back control. We’re not managing stress this week—we’re studying it like a detective so you can finally see how it operates in your life.

Action Step

Start a journal titled “Stress Clues.” For now, just note when you feel stressed and what your body is doing.

New Podcast: “Sweet Spirit, Comfort Me”: A Midnight Prayer for the Grieving

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Sleepless with sorrow? You’re not alone. In this moving episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, Ray reads Robert Herrick’s timeless poem, “Sweet Spirit, comfort me,” offering companionship for those haunted by late-night grief. Through poetry and reflection, this episode brings hope to the darkest hours—when you don’t need answers, just presence. Whether you’re lying awake or walking through sorrow, this episode gently reminds you: comfort is closer than you think.

Points to Ponder

  • Why does grief often feel heavier at night—and what can help us carry it?
  • What does the repetition in Herrick’s poem offer the grieving heart?
  • How do we experience the unseen presence of comfort or the divine in silence?
  • In what ways can poetry serve as a spiritual anchor during emotional storms?
  • Can hope exist in the smallest flicker—and is that enough to hold on?

The Light You Carry: How Small Acts Create a Lifetime of Impact

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You don’t need a spotlight to shine—just a moment, a kind word, a presence. The light you carry is already changing lives. Let it shine.

The Sufi Mystic Hafez said, “I wish I could show you…the astonishing light of your own being.” Each of us has an amazing capacity to do good. Doing good is reaching out to those around us whether they are family, friends, colleagues, or strangers and making a momentary difference in their lives. Imagine the cumulative effect of making a difference every day over one’s lifetime. One would be leaving a trail of people who felt better because you were present in their lives even if it was a brief a moment. When I mentored my students who were seeking advice on an upcoming job interview.I give them this advice: I would tell them to make the people they met in the interview process better because they were there. It always worked. Doing good and being successful can go hand-in-hand. That’s when we are at our best. Whose life are you going to touch today? Someone is waiting for you.

Points to Ponder:

  1. What would your legacy look like if you made just one person feel better every day? Picture the ripples of impact over a year, a decade, a lifetime.
  2. Can success and kindness be intertwined more than we realize? Reflect on how doing good might actually unlock new doors, not just warm hearts.
  3. What “astonishing light” are you hiding from yourself? Consider how you might better recognize—and share—the unique brilliance within you.

When Day is Over ~ A Poem by Lesbia Harford

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Beyond the Bars of Darkness: Finding Freedom in the Night Sky


Sometimes, it’s not sleep we seek when the day ends—it’s connection, truth, and the quiet breaking of invisible chains.

When Day is Over

Lesbia Harford

When day is over
I climb up the stair,
Take off my dark dress,
Pull down my hair,
Open my window
And look at the stars.
Then my heart breaks through
These prison bars
Of space and darkness
And finds what is true,
Up past the stars where
I’m one with you.

Source

Poignant Reflection:

There’s something sacred about the moment when the day folds itself away. In “When Day is Over,” Lesbia Harford invites us into that hushed, intimate hour where all external expectations are stripped off like a dark dress. We climb the stairs not just to a room, but to ourselves. The poem hints at both solitude and connection—at the quiet transformation from separation to unity. The stars, distant and burning, become a bridge beyond space and darkness. It’s as if the soul has waited all day to do what the body couldn’t: rise, reach, and remember its source. In those moments of stillness and sky-gazing, we are no longer confined—we are infinite, and not alone.

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Three Questions to Dive Deeper:

  1. What rituals or moments in your day help you reconnect with what’s most true in yourself?
  2. Who—or what—is the “you” the speaker becomes one with? A person? A divine presence? A part of herself?
  3. What “prison bars” keep you from reaching beyond the ordinary, and what helps you break through them?

Light for the Journey: The Light That Never Dies: Tolstoy’s Message for Our Darkest Hours

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Even in the bleakest moments, there is a radiant ember within you that refuses to be extinguished. Discover the hope Tolstoy knew lived in us all.

There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Reflection:

Leo Tolstoy’s words remind us that no matter how overwhelming the darkness may seem—whether it’s personal grief, global unrest, or quiet despair—there is something deep within us that endures. A spark. A whisper of light. A flicker of hope that refuses to go out. It may dim. It may waver. But it will not die. This indestructible brilliance is our human spirit—resilient, defiant, and determined to prevail. We are more than our struggles; we are the keepers of an inner flame that refuses to yield. Let Tolstoy’s words be your reassurance: You are never truly lost, never fully defeated. Keep walking. Keep believing. That tiny light within you is brighter than you think—and it’s enough to find your way forward.

Writer’s Prompt: The Question That Saved a Broken Man

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One question from a child shattered his silence—and woke the ghost of a man who had nothing left to lose. Redemption and revenge begin with one word: bum.

Writing Prompt Opening Paragraph:

The bench was cold, but Sam barely noticed. Most things didn’t register anymore—not the wind slicing through his coat, not the smell of stale beer clinging to his breath, not even the ache in his shoulder from an old bullet wound he used to be proud of. He was a man eroded by time, sorrow, and whiskey. Once a decorated cop. Once a husband. Once a father. Now? Just another shadow slouched in the park. He hadn’t spoken a full sentence in weeks. That’s when he felt it—a tap, hesitant but firm, on his knee. He opened one eye and saw a boy, no older than six, eyes big and curious. “Mister,” the boy asked, “are you a bum?” The question, innocent and piercing, cracked something in Sam that had long calcified. In that moment, something stirred—anger, pain, memory. But also…possibility. Sam sat up straighter. The past wasn’t done with him yet. And maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t done with the past either.

Questions to Dive Deeper:

  1. What does it take for a broken person to begin healing, and can that spark come from a stranger?
  2. Can redemption and revenge walk side by side—or will one always consume the other?
  3. How do moments of innocence hold the power to transform a life ruined by violence?

Stressed & Aware: Understanding How Pressure Shapes Our Health

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Welcome to a 6 part series to help you understand “How Pressure Shapes Our Health.” This six-day series isn’t about managing stress—it’s about truly seeing it. Before we reach for remedies or coping strategies, we need to understand how stress shows up in our lives, how it affects our bodies and minds, and how it quietly reshapes our health over time. Each post in this series will help you connect the dots between your daily pressures and your well-being. You’ll uncover where your stress is coming from, how it behaves in your body, and why simply “pushing through it” comes at a cost. By the end of this journey, you won’t just be stressed—you’ll be stressed and aware, and that awareness can be the beginning of real transformation.

🪞 Reflection Question:

Where in your life do you feel stress the most—your body, your mind, or your emotions? And what might your stress be trying to tell you?

You Might Be 2% Ziploc: A Backyard Chat About Microplastics

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Two lawn-chair philosophers, one suspicious plastic cup, and a whole lot of uncomfortable truth about what’s floating in our oceans… and our bodies.


Microplastics. They sound tiny—and they are—but their impact is anything but small. These invisible invaders are the byproduct of our plastic-obsessed lifestyle, breaking down into microscopic fragments that now float through oceans, drift into our food, and even circulate in our bloodstreams. The problem? We barely notice. But what if the truth about plastic pollution landed right in your driveway, between two lawn chairs and a couple of iced teas? Meet Jose and Miguel, two San Antonio buddies who might just change how you see your favorite solo cup—one hilarious jab at a time.

Setting: Two buddies sitting on lawn chairs in a San Antonio driveway, sipping iced tea from suspiciously shiny plastic cups.

Jose:

You know, Miguel, I read that some folks wanna ban plastic straws again. What’s next? No plastic chairs? No plastic flamingos? Are we supposed to drink our iced tea through a blade of grass?

Miguel:

I mean… it’d be good fiber. But seriously, Jose, you ever think about where that plastic cup goes when you’re done?

Jose:

Yeah, into the trash. Then the trash fairies take it to the big landfill in the sky. Poof—gone.

Miguel:

More like poof—it lives forever. That cup’ll outlast your grandkids. It might even reincarnate as a flip-flop and wash up on a beach in Bali.

Jose:

Well then my legacy lives on. “Jose: Father, Veteran, Eternal Solo Cup.” I like it.

Miguel:

C’mon, hermano. That cup’s not harmless. Plastics break down into these tiny things called microplastics. They’re in our rivers, our fish, even in our blood.

Jose:

Wait—are you telling me I’m part Tupperware?

Miguel:

You might be 2% Ziploc by now. Studies are finding microplastics in people’s organs. They’re like glitter—once it’s loose, good luck getting rid of it.

Jose:

Okay, that’s gross. But I recycle!

Miguel:

Yeah, about that… only about 9% of plastic actually gets recycled. The rest either ends up in landfills or doing laps in the ocean.

Jose:

So what—you want me to start drinking out of coconuts?

Miguel:

No, man. Just start small. Use a reusable cup, maybe grab some beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap. We’re not trying to go full caveman—just smarter caveman.

Jose:

What if I don’t like change? I still have a flip phone and a drawer full of AOL CDs.

Miguel:

Then you’re halfway there—reuse, my friend. And hey, cutting down plastic doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort. It just means not turning Earth into a giant Rubbermaid.

Jose:

Alright, alright. But I’m keeping my flamingos. They’ve been with me since ’92.

Miguel:

Deal. But let’s agree they never end up in the Gulf, okay?

Jose:

Deal. Now pour me another iced tea. But this time, make it… biodegradable.


Sometimes the biggest wake-up calls don’t come from headlines or documentaries—they come from a neighbor with iced tea and a quick wit. Jose and Miguel’s driveway dialogue reminds us that environmental change doesn’t have to be preachy or perfect. It starts with awareness, a laugh, and a small shift—like swapping out one plastic habit for something a little kinder to the planet. We don’t need to go full granola overnight. But we can start asking questions. We can take responsibility for our footprint. And we can make choices that help the world we’ll hand off to future generations—flamingos and all. So here’s to less plastic, more consciousness, and maybe one day… a body that’s 0% Tupperware.

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