courage

Today’s Thought: Release Your Fears

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Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions. ~ Hafez

NOTE: I read the news online. I avoid cable talk and news shows. They have one thing in common, they all use one ingredient, fear. They advocate for their position by showing why I should be fearful of the opposing position. There’s no effort to discover middle ground or to sort out the truth from fiction. I recently saw a late night host do a bit on billionaires who are building survivalist bunkers. What are they afraid of? One billionaire even created a fiery moat around his bunker. Fear has gripped them tighter than a boa constrictor wrapping itself around its prey. Fear parallelizes. Fear places a wall in front of freedom. Fear restricts creative thinking. Fear holds us prisoner inside a cell and leaves the cell door unlocked knowing we will be too fearful to let go of our fears to open the door and walk away. What fears are you holding on to? What fears do you have that are irrational? How would you feel if you could let go of your fears and start living?

Finding Balance and Direction in the Wilderness of Grief – Journey from Grief to Healing Podcast Episode 73

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Welcome to Episode 73 of Journey from Grief to Healing with Dr. Ray Calabrese. This episode is aptly titled ‘Lost & Found’, and in it, Dr. Ray draws a parallel between the experience of being physically lost and the emotional state of grieving. He vividly recounts a childhood memory of getting lost at a beach, and the panic and then relief on being found – an emotional journey we often mirror in our path through grief.

When we grieve, we often feel lost and panicked, unable to connect the dots or make sense of our surroundings. This bewildering state of being, however, can also provide an opportunity for self-discovery. Dr. Ray emphasizes the importance of being emotionally balanced and grounded during this difficult time, as it is crucial to the healing process.

Drawing inspiration from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Love, Pray, and writings of Henry David Thoreau and the Sufi mystic Rumi, Dr. Ray talks about looking at the world through your heart instead of your head. He encourages readers to perceive their grief as a teaching experience, highlighting how a wound can open one up to self-understanding and finding one’s true direction.

This episode concludes with a powerful message of hope as Dr. Ray encourages listeners to embrace their grief, and through it, emerge a changed person ready for their next adventure. Concluding with Tolkien’s words, he inspires listeners to move forward with faith, anticipating brighter days ahead, and maintaining an undying spirit of never quitting, never giving up.

You can listen to Episode 73 on your favorite podcasting app or click here for Episode 73.

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Choosing to Live Beyond Pain: Navigating Healing and Hope in Life’s Dark Moments

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Welcome to Episode 72 of Dr. Ray Calabrese’s podcast, ‘Journey from Grief to Healing.’ This episode dives into the difficult journey of grappling with the emotional and physical upheavals that accompany grief, especially when it becomes a ‘new normal.’ Through perseverance, Dr. Calabrese insists that amidst the suffering and stumbling, hope remains alive, offering the promise of better times ahead.

This episode encourages listeners to change their perception from ‘Will I ever get better?’ to ‘How do I get better?’ Taking personal experiences like his arthritic hips and subsequent hip replacements, Dr. Calabrese compares this physical healing process to that of emotional grief. The journey may be painful, with many challenges along the way, but it’s all about making the decision to live, affirming the will to life, and choosing to take actions forward.

Dr. Calabrese emphasizes that choosing to heal doesn’t instantly alleviate pain, rather it’s a gradual process that requires initiative and efforts. Highlighting the significance of scars, he affirms them as reminders of the struggles overcome and symbol of endurance and survival. Episode 72 communicates that whilst grief may leave scars, it’s crucial to honor them but to also decide not to let them define our lives.

This episode empowers listeners to embrace their past, honor their healing process and scars, and to choose to heal and live. Through emotional resilience, courage, and the will to survive, it emphasizes that good things are coming and encourages listeners to stay hopeful and strong, to cross the bridge built by their desire to heal and to face life head-on.

For more uplifting and inspiring content, subscribe to the podcast for notifications of future episodes, and check out Dr. Ray Calabrese’s blog looking on the bright side at http://www.dancingalone530.com. For further inquiries or sharing of grieving experiences, you can reach out at ray.brese@gmail.com. Stay strong, never quit, never give up and keep hoping, because the best is yet to come.

You can listen to Episode 72 on your favorite podcasting app or click here for Episode 72.

Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to receive notifications of future episodes

Embracing the Healing Power of Nature in Your Grieving Journey

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Welcome to Episode 71 of Dr. Ray Calabrese’s ‘Journey from Grief to Healing’ podcast. As he takes you with him on a tranquil morning walk in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Ray explores the profound influence of nature on our emotions and healing process as we grapple with grief. Listen as he immerses himself in his surroundings, inhaling the fragrance of the blooming mountain laurel, greeting the mockingbirds and dogs he meets along the way, and exchanging smiles with passersby, sharing his first-hand experience on how these simple, seemingly mundane activities could, over time, help deflate the grief balloon.

In this episode, Dr. Ray prompts us to consider that perhaps it’s the perfect time to emerge from our winter of grieving and welcome the warming sun of our own springtime, letting love in its manifold forms touch us, bring a smile to our faces, and hasten our healing. Echoing the profound thoughts of Victor Hugo, he emphasizes that love thrives even in the direst of circumstances, and it’s this steadfast love that can help us foster resilience and healing in the face of grief. Embrace the warming rays of spring and journey towards healing with Dr. Ray.

You can listen to Episode 71 on your favorite podcasting app or click here for Episode 71.

Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to receive notifications of future episodes

Today’s Inspiring Quote: You Are Stronger Than You Realize

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For you do not yet know the strengths of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet on the road. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien

Life: A Poem by Charlotte Bronte

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Life

Charlotte Bronte

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?
Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily
Enjoy them as they fly!
What though Death at times steps in,
And calls our Best away?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway?
Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!

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Today’s Thought: Yes, It is Possible!

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Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve. ~ J. K. Rowling

NOTE: When things go bad it’s easy to visit that dark space where there is no light. When we turn our back to the dark space, give ourselves a kick in the butt, and light a fire under us, we engage with the world. If we’re trying and refuse to quit, we may fool everyone and succeed beyond our wildest dreams. What have you got to lose? Go for it.

Today’s Word: Endurance

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Endurance: Endurance refers to the ability to withstand hardship or adversity, especially the capacity to continue exerting oneself despite fatigue or stress. It can also pertain to the ability of an object to withstand wear, pressure, or damage.

NOTE: Everyone experiences tough times. Tough times happen periodically throughout our lives. Acquiring the ability to endure tough times and to have the courage to push through them makes us stronger and more resilient. Acquiring endurance is a lot like exercising. The more we exercise, the stronger we become. The more we endure tough times and emerge whole, the more endurance capital we collect. Each time we endure a tough time we train our mind to not quit. We train our minds to acknowledge that we are tougher than the tough times we are currently experiencing.

Still I Rise: A Poem by Maya Angelou

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Still I Rise

Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

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A Month of Happiness: A Poem by Robert Bly

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A Month of Happiness

Robert Bly

A blind horse stands among cherry trees.

And bones shine from cool earth.

The heart leaps

Almost up to the sky! But laments

And filaments pull us back into the dark.

Night takes us. But

A paw

Comes out of the dark

To light the road. I’ll be all right.

I follow my own fiery traces through the night.

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