story

New Podcast: Grief Hurts, But It’s Not the End of the Story

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In this episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, we face one of life’s hardest truths: grief hits—and it hits hard. But buried beneath the pain is something quietly waiting: your resilience. Using poetry, personal reflection, and hard-won insight, this episode explores why tough moments aren’t the final answer… unless we surrender to them. Whether you’re deep in the ache or just trying to understand it better, this is a reminder: you’re alive, and that alone is powerful.✨

5 Salient Points from the Episode:

  • Tough moments of grief are inescapable—but they aren’t permanent.
  • Surrender can take many forms (drugs, alcohol, denial), but healing begins by facing pain, not fleeing it.
  • Grief operates outside the timelines we’re used to—it’s more like waiting on a stopped train in Rilke’s meadow.
  • Aging can make us more risk-averse, stifling resilience—but that life force never truly disappears.
  • **The awakening of resilience is slow and uneven, but every moment of strength proves: You are alive.”

New Podcast: The Land Beyond: Where Grief Ends and Hope Begins

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In this episode, Ray shares a powerful message for anyone standing at the edge of change: it’s okay to be afraid. It’s normal to want to stay where it’s familiar — even if it hurts. But healing begins when we take that first step into the unknown.

With personal reflections, poetic insights, and a story that feels like your own, this episode reminds us that the land beyond is closer than we think.

Today’s Quote: What Story Are You Writing?

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You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend, or not. ~ Isabel Allende

Today’s Quote: You’ve a Great Story. Don’t Quit!

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“Every great story happened when someone decided not to give up.” —Spryte Loriano

Today’s Thought: What Is Your Story?

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“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” ~ Robert McKee

We learn the power of stories in infancy. Stories can transport us to different places, centuries, or affect our relationships. When I play around with writing fiction, I start with a couple of characters and allow them to create the story. The characters carry me along with their adventure. I’ll get lost in the writing and lose track of time. It’s a fun thing to let fictitious characters create your story. It’s a tragedy when we let others create our life’s story. We have a right to create our own story. Our personal story is ours to write. Don’t forfeit that right to another. Whatever your story take ownership. Write a great story.

Thinking Out Loud:

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But how could you live and have no story to tell? ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

NOTE: Most of us never think of ourselves as writers. Yet, every day we are writing (figuratively) a chapter to our story. Our stories have villains and heroes. They are filled with love, betrayal, success and loss. There are twists and turns in our stories that we can’t predict. We are writing our story and we are the central character in our story. Our central character (you and me) each day enters into a new and often unpredictable adventure. We can’t predict the events of the day, we can determine how our central character reacts to the events. It is the central character’s reaction to the events of his/her day that will color who the central character is, what is important to him/her, what he/she values, and the kind of person he or she is. Playing the leading role is powerful stuff. It’s up to us how the story turn out. We can change the direction of the central character, his/her attitude, values, and speech any time we choose to do so. Is it time to change?

Something to think About ~ Following One’s Intuition

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Viktor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, spoke of being put on a list to go on a transport to a rest camp. Those who know him told him not to go. It was a trick, they were really sending him to the gas chambers. Frankl’s intuition told him to go and let fate take its course. Later, he discovered that if he had stayed, he would’ve died. It reminded him of the story, The Death in Teheran.

Here is the story: a rich and mighty Persian once walked in his garden with one of the servants, the servant cried that he had just encountered Death who had threatened him. He begged his master to give him his fastest horse, so he could make haste in flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. The master on returning to his house himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran,” said Death. (p. 66)

Photo of the Day ~ Write a Great Story

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What is the story you are writing? Each day you write a new chapter to your life.

Make today a great story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Source

What if I paid for the next person in line at my local coffee shop?

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What if I paid for the next person in line at my local coffee shop? If I were on the receiving end, I’d be grateful. I’d have a smile on my face and a story to tell about the man/woman who surprised me by picking up my coffee tab. Next time you’re at your local coffee shop, surprise someone by picking up their tab and giving them a great story to tell. 

Something to Think About

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This past week I was in a group meeting. Each member of the group was shared personal stories. A member told story where he was caught in a major explosions and it left him suffering from  PTSD. His description of what he experienced touched everyone who was listening to his story. Two members of the group  interrupted him toward the end of his story. They asked questions and offered suggestions on what he could do. He stopped talking, folded his arms across his chest and nodded. They were trying to fix him and give him a solution. He wanted people to hear his story and understand his suffering. Sometimes it’s better to listen than to offer suggestions.

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