Drawing on insights from T. S. Eliot, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and Ray’s own journey through grief, this episode invites listeners to see struggle not as a detour, but as a refining force. You’ll discover how hardship can reshape who you are—and how opening yourself to transformation allows the gift to emerge.
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Ralph Chaplin
Out on the “lookout” in the wind and sleet,
Out in the woods of fir and spruce and pine,
Down in the hot slopes of the dripping mine
We dreamed of you and Oh, the dream was sweet!
And now you bless the felon food we eat
And make each iron cell a sacred shrine;
For when your love thrills in the blood like wine,
The very stones grow holy to our feet.
We shall be faithful though we march with Death
And singing storm the barricades of Wrong,
For life is such a little thing to give.
We shall fight on as long as we have breath–
Love in our hearts and on our lips a song–
Without you it were better not to live!
Patience Worth
That peace which passeth understanding;
That peace which clings an unopened lily;
That peace which hangeth like a garment
About a mountain peak;
That peace which slippeth between the morning
And the night like a phantom thing;
That peace which is the quietude, the communion,
The infinite power of rest;
That peace which hovers about an infant’s eyes,
Encompass me!
For I am weary, and my soul crieth out.
Let Thine encircling arms enfold me.
Let me rest my head upon Thy bosom,
And learn from Thy mute lips, contriteness,
And silence before oppression.
James Allen in his book, As a Man Thinketh, writes, “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.” P. 42
As a Man Thinketh is available online at gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.
NOTE: Think of a time in your life when you achieved something you wanted so badly you could almost taste it. What did you sacrifice to achieve your goal? I felt this way about wanting to earn my doctorate. I had to maintain a full-time job to support my family and so my family and I sacrificed the time we normally spent together so I could achieve my goal. The sacrifice, as it was in my case, is often shared by those who are close to us. When we have a lofty goal, we have to ask ourselves, “How much and what am I willing to sacrifice to achieve this goal.” Great accomplishments come from great sacrifices.
“Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph: a beginning, a struggle, and a victory.”
“Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.”
It takes two people to dance.
It takes two people to fall in love.
It takes two people to make love.
It takes two people to hold each other in times of struggle.
It takes two people to celebrate joyful moments.
It takes two people to have meaningful conversations.
Good Luck and Bad
Grantland Rice
GOOD Luck is like a down hill tide
That helps to make an easy start,
Where one may paddle, drift or glide
Without much effort on his part;
But though it takes you to the goal
And brings you in the world's acclaim,
It builds no fibre for your soul
Nor molds you for the rougher game.
Bad Luck is like an uphill sweep,
The test of courage and of class,
Where troubles grow and shadows creep
And none except the valiant pass ;
Where through raw gales that blow but ill
The entry clings to this lone dream :
The stalwart only stalks the hill
The gamefish only swims up stream.
If your main wish is but to win
Let Good Luck help to pull you through,
To know the cheering and the din
That go where laurel sprigs are due ;
But if you wish to build a heart
That scorns the fickle whims of Fate,
Take Hard Luck for the journey's start
With rugged Trouble for a mate.
