Grieving

Calm is all Nature as a Resting Wheel ~ A Poem by William Wordsworth

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When Nature Whispers Calm: A Reflection on Wordsworth’s Resting Wheel


In the hush of a starless night, Wordsworth finds solace in nature’s stillness and a momentary pause from grief.

Calm is all Nature as a Resting Wheel

William Wordsworth

Calm is all nature as a resting wheel.
The kine are couched upon the dewy grass;
The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass,
Is cropping audibly his later meal:
Dark is the ground; a slumber seems to steal
O’er vale, and mountain, and the starless sky.
Now, in this blank of things, a harmony,
Home-felt, and home-created, comes to heal
That grief for which the senses still supply
Fresh food; for only then, when memory
Is hushed, am I at rest. My Friends! restrain
Those busy cares that would allay my pain;
Oh! leave me to myself, nor let me feel
The officious touch that makes me droop again

Source

🌱 Reflection

In Calm is all Nature as a Resting Wheel, William Wordsworth paints a scene of night so still it seems the earth itself has stopped to breathe. This pause, rich with harmony, becomes a balm for the poet’s grief—a grief that otherwise feeds endlessly on memory. The stillness of cattle, the quiet presence of a horse, the darkened landscape all become participants in a healing silence. Yet the healing is fragile. Wordsworth resists the well-meant comfort of others, pleading instead to be left alone in this natural quiet, where for a fleeting moment, sorrow loosens its grip. The poem reminds us that sometimes true solace is not found in words or intervention, but in the gentle embrace of silence, nature, and solitude.

❓ Three Questions for Deeper Reflection

  1. How does Wordsworth contrast the stillness of nature with the restlessness of grief?
  2. Why might solitude sometimes heal more than the presence of others?
  3. In your own life, when has nature’s silence provided comfort words could not?

Love ~ A Poem by Pablo Neruda

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The Ghost of Love: When Memory Becomes the Heart’s Wound


What remains when even memory fades—but the ache persists? Pablo Neruda’s Love is a haunting dance between forgetting and feeling too much.

Love

Pablo neruda

Because of you, in gardens of blossoming
Flowers I ache from the perfumes of spring.
I have forgotten your face, I no longer
Remember your hands; how did your lips
Feel on mine?

Because of you, I love the white statues
Drowsing in the parks, the white statues that
Have neither voice nor sight.

I have forgotten your voice, your happy voice;
I have forgotten your eyes.

Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to
My vague memory of you. I live with pain
That is like a wound; if you touch me, you will
Make to me an irreperable harm.

Your caresses enfold me, like climbing
Vines on melancholy walls.

I have forgotten your love, yet I seem to
Glimpse you in every window.

Because of you, the heady perfumes of
Summer pain me; because of you, I again
Seek out the signs that precipitate desires:
Shooting stars, falling objects.

Source

Reflection

There are loves so powerful that even when the face has faded, the scent of spring or the curve of a statue can stir the soul. In Pablo Neruda’s Love, we wander through the haze of forgotten details—eyes, hands, lips—and find that while memory dissolves, longing refuses to let go. The paradox is profound: how can one ache so deeply for someone they can no longer clearly recall? This is not love remembered, but love embodied in absence, embedded in everything and yet belonging to no one. Even joy becomes painful; even beauty becomes a reminder of what is no longer fully known. What Neruda captures is not merely grief, but the way love etches itself into the soul’s architecture—how it climbs the walls of our being like vines, how it never fully leaves, even as we claim it has.

Three Questions to Deepen the Reading

  1. What does it mean to forget someone’s features, but still be moved by their essence in daily life?
  2. How does Neruda use nature and physical surroundings to reflect the lingering presence of lost love?
  3. Is it more painful to forget a love completely—or to remember just enough to still ache?

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 Three Strange Angels: What Knocks in the Night of Grief

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What if the strange knocking in the night of your grief isn’t danger… but something sacred? In this deeply moving episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, we explore D.H. Lawrence’s poem “The Song of a Man Who Has Come Through.” You’ll discover how grief carves us still, and how the invisible wind of change stirs us gently toward hope—if only we let it in. This is an invitation to feel, to trust, and to admit the three strange angels that just might lead you to wonder again.

New Podcast: The Light That Refuses to Die: Tolstoy’s Gift to the Grieving

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🌟 Even in the darkest grief, a tiny ember inside us refuses to die. In this episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, I reflect on a powerful quote by Leo Tolstoy and how it reminds us that hope survives—even when the world feels hopeless. If you’re carrying sorrow today, this one’s for you. 🎧


🎙️ Listen now: “The Light That Refuses to Die: Tolstoy’s Gift to the Grieving”

The Storm Will Pass: Grief, Grace, and the Power of Presence

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What do you do when life hands you a storm you never saw coming? In this poignant episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, Ray shares the gripping story of a friend’s near-tragic loss during the Texas floods—and the six-hour silence that tested a family’s strength. Reflections on poems by Mary Oliver and Katherine Mansfield give shape to the emotional rollercoaster of grief, reminding us that storms eventually pass, and love is our most precious gift. A must-listen for anyone learning to hold on and let go all at once.

5 Points to Ponder

  • What does it mean to live as if life is truly “wild and precious”?
  • How can grief sharpen our awareness of the people who are still with us?
  • Why is silence sometimes more powerful than words in moments of pain?
  • What personal storms have shaped your understanding of love and loss?
  • In what ways can poetry help give meaning to what feels unspeakable?

New Podcast: Between the Scars: A Road Back to Living

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When grief threatens to pull us under, we face a powerful choice: life or death—not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. In this episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, we reflect on a verse from Deuteronomy, poetic wisdom from Wordsworth, and even a photo of a pizza-loving great-granddaughter to explore how choosing life can ignite the embers of hope within us. This is your invitation to keep going—and to find joy in the little things.

5 Points to Ponder

  • Deuteronomy 30:19 inspires the theme—every day presents a clear, soul-level choice: life or death, hope or despair.
  • Hope lives in us—it’s written into our DNA. Choosing life rekindles that dormant ember.
  • Pain is part of living, but not the whole picture. Love, joy, and connection make up far more of our human experience.
  • Small joys matter most—a photo, a shared slice of pizza, a dancing daffodil can remind us why life is still beautiful.
  • Poetry as healing—Wordsworth’s “Daffodils” captures the heart’s quiet return to joy and the miracle of simple beauty.

Grieving: When the Pain Softens but the Missing Stays

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Death hurts—and it keeps on hurting in ways time doesn’t erase. In this episode, Ray reflects on the nine years since his wife’s death and the “hole in the soul” that never filled in. Drawing strength and companionship from Victor Hugo’s poem Tomorrow at Dawn, he explores how grief changes shape but remains part of us. You’ll hear why accepting the hole isn’t giving up—it’s how we live, love, grow, and honor those we miss. If you’re carrying your own emptiness, you’re not alone. Walk on with us.

5 Salient Points

  • Grief is long, unpredictable, and unavoidable for emotionally healthy people.
  • Over time, acute pain fades—but the absence remains as a “hole in the soul.”
  • Acceptance doesn’t close the hole; it lets us live with it.
  • Victor Hugo’s Tomorrow at Dawn mirrors the universal ache of enduring loss.
  • We honor our loved ones by continuing to live, grow, and walk forward—hole and all.

New Podcast: Stuck in the Groove: When Grief Becomes a Broken Record

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Have you ever felt like grief left your mind playing the same sorrowful line over and over—like a stuck needle on a vinyl record? In this episode, Ray explores how we get emotionally stuck in grief, the cost of refusing to grow, and the healing power of choosing to move forward. With poetic wisdom from Christina Rossetti and E.E. Cummings, you’ll be invited to toss the vinyl and start streaming life again—one moment at a time.

5 Salient Points from the Episode

  • Vinyl as Metaphor: Just like a needle stuck on a record, our thoughts can loop endlessly in grief.
  • Emotional Stagnation: Holding onto sorrow can turn our homes and hearts into museums of loss.
  • Rossetti’s Wisdom: Her poem Remember encourages letting go with grace—not guilt.
  • Growth vs. Decline: Life is always moving—either we grow forward, or we slip backward.
  • New Soundtrack: The journey forward may be slow, but choosing to live—“do it and repeat”—is the healing rhythm.

New Podcast: The Quiet Ache of Grief: Yearning After Loss

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In this touching episode of Journey from Grief to Healing, we explore the tender thread of yearning—that quiet, constant ache for a loved one who’s gone. It hums beneath the surface of ordinary moments and reminds us that love never leaves quietly. Through poetic reflection, personal stories, and timeless wisdom from ancient poets like Li Po and e.e. cummings, we discover how yearning reveals both our sorrow and our sacred connection. This episode gently guides listeners toward healing—not by forgetting, but by learning to move forward with grace, courage, and hope.

5 Salient Points

  • Yearning is a universal and deeply emotional part of grief, often more powerful than sadness itself.
  • Li Po’s poem “Endless my Yearning” beautifully captures the soul’s ache to reconnect with someone who is gone.
  • Experiencing a loved one’s presence or voice after death is a normal part of grief for many.
  • Grief counselors can offer vital support when yearning interferes with daily life—seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
  • Healing is gradual and nonlinear—but with time, moments of beauty, peace, and purpose grow stronger than the pain.

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