toughness

Life ~ A Poem by Edgar Albert Guest

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Life’s No Dress Rehearsal—So Belt Out the Ballad, Dance Through the Drama, and Frost Your Cake With Joy. Dive into Edgar Albert Guest’s stirring poem Life, a timeless reminder that while grief may knock, joy still sings. This post explores how laughter, perseverance, and soulful choices shape the lives we live.

Life

Edgar Albert Guest

Life is a jest;
  Take the delight of it.
Laughter is best;
  Sing through the night of it.
Swiftly the tear
  And the hurt and the ache of it
Find us down here;
  Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a song;
  Let us dance to the thrill of it.
Grief’s hours are long,
  And cold is the chill of it.
Joy is man’s need;
  Let us smile for the sake of it.
This be our creed:
  Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a soul;
  The virtue and vice of it.
Strife for a goal,
  And man’s strength is the price of it.
Your life and mine,
  The bare bread and the cake of it,
End in this line:
  Life must be what we make of it.

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Reflection:

Edgar Guest invites us into life’s full theater—where comedy, tragedy, and soulful striving share the same stage. In just three stanzas, he reminds us that tears are real, but so is laughter, and while pain can linger, joy is essential. His refrain, “Life must be what we make of it,” isn’t just advice—it’s a challenge to create meaning, to choose beauty, and to craft a life that sings even in minor chords.

🧐 Three Questions to Deepen the Reader’s Experience:

  1. Which line from the poem echoes your current stage of life—the laughter, the ache, the goal, or the creed?
  2. If “life must be what we make of it,” what’s one deliberate change you could make today to shape your life more intentionally?
  3. How does the interplay between joy and grief in the poem mirror your own experience of resilience?

Still ~ A Poem by T. P. Cameron Wilson

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Still

T. P. Cameron Wilson

STILL though chaos
Works on the ancient plan;
Two things have changed not
Since first the world began.
The beauty of the wild green earth
And the bravery of man.

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Preparedness ~ A Poem by Edwin Markham

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Preparedness

Edwin Markham

For all your days prepare,
  And meet them ever alike:
When you are the anvil, bear—
  When you are the hammer, strike.

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When One Door Closes Another Opens

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“If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new Hello. ~ Paulo Coehlo”

I Love Underdogs

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I love it when an underdog wins. Underdogs in sporting events become favorites because they represent most people . An underdog has had to overcome obstacles at every turn. The underdog has to work harder, train longer, and play with a ferocity reserved for hungry lions . I was watching an indoor track meet on TV recently . The event was the 1500 m men’s final. The announcers let the viewers know who the three best runners were. As the race progressed the three best runners ran bunched together at the head of the pack. They gradually pulled away. A lone runner from the pack broke free from the pack and was running 10 m behind the group of the three. The pace picked up as they entered the final two laps of the indoor track. One of the top tree runners separated from the other two top runners. As the rounded into the final home stretch, the underdog, the runner in 4th place, started running as if he were being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. He passed the third runner, then the second runner. The crowd was going crazy. The lead runner looked over his right shoulder and as he did the underdog flew by him and won the 1500m by two strides. Underdogs don’t quit, they work harder. C’mon, underdog, you got this!

Health Tips: Make Winning a Habit

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Losing weight requires mental toughness. It’s not easy. Food surrounds us. We can’t live without it. The right foods sustain our health. The wrong foods can contribute to all types of health problems. So, how do you eat healthy and lose those extra pounds? You have to figure out the diet and healthy foods that work for you. You can check out my Healthy Foods & Recipes blog post. It comes out daily. Once you decide on your eating plan here’s a mental toughness tip to get you to the finish line.

Mental Toughness Tip

The following tip works with any habit you’re trying to break or instill. A big problem with breaking a habit or trying to develop a different habit is that we get discouraged when we fail. Often, after a couple of failures we may say to ourselves, “What’s the use.” We stop trying. Okay, here’s what you do. Take a plain sheet of paper. Draw a line down the middle so you have two columns. On top of the left hand column mark a W. On top of the right hand column mark an L. W equals win. L equals loss. Each day that you win put a mark under the W. Each time you fail, put a mark under the L. Here’s what you’ll see. You’ll discover that you’re getting more W’s than L’s. No sports team has all W’s. Why should you? Stay with it for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days count up your W’s and L’s. You’ll discover you’ve broken the habit you wanted to break. Or, you acquired the habit you wanted to acquire. It’s the W’s that count. You’re not perfect, you’ll get an L or two, big deal. Let’s get started. You can do this!

Podcast: Overcoming Grief: Lessons from Poetry on Perseverance & Courage

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In Season 2, Episode 14 of Journey from Grief to Healing, Dr. Ray Calabrese explores perseverance as our secret weapon in grief. Each triumph over adversity strengthens us, proving that we are more resilient than we realize. Drawing from the wisdom of Elizabeth Edwards, Pablo Neruda, Anne Sexton, and contemporary poet Quiet Wolf, this episode reflects on the transformative power of resilience in the face of loss.

Grief is a journey through darkness, much like Neruda’s metaphorical lily blooming against all odds. It is in choosing to continue, even in the smallest acts—getting out of bed, cooking a meal, or facing another day—that we reclaim our lives. Sexton’s poem Courage reminds us that resilience is found in everyday moments, proving that even in sorrow, we have the strength to move forward.

Join Dr. Calabrese in this inspiring exploration of perseverance, healing, and the courage to keep living. The victory is already yours—just keep going.

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Healthy Tips: Learn From Your Mistakes

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Mentally tough folks learn from their mistakes, they refuse to be crushed by them. Here is a tip on how to make mistakes work for you:

“Making a mistake is just a source of feedback informing you that you are off course use that data to focus on what to do next. Then forget the mistake. You can visualize yourself flushing it down the toilet or releasing it in a balloon. The point is to leave the mistake behind and build on what you’ve learned. You cannot perform at your best by focusing on your worst.” Source

Healthy Tips: Building an Antifragile Mind

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The Antifragile Mind
We can become mentally stronger by recognizing the opportunities presented by adverse events. Try out the following four steps:

  • Step one –Think of the last time you experienced adversity.
  • Step two – List the mistakes you made that may have contributed to this event.
  • Step three – What lessons do you think you can take from what happened?
  • Step four – How can you learn from your mistakes and grow stronger?

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Choose to be Free

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“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ~ Charlotte Brontë,

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