It's challenging when we feel despair or depression hovering around us and we don't really know why it's there. But, like Rumi's poem The Guest House, it's important to welcome in even the feelings we don't like and wish would leave us alone. So today I'm recommitting to accepting my own despair and letting it in the door. I'll stop rejecting this down time, allow it to be present, and receive whatever it has to teach me. I'll also stop judging myself for wanting to push away the negative feelings. If you are feeling down right now too just remember that you're not alone, we all go through these days and weeks, and it will go away someday. I'll check back in when things are going better to look at these down days from the other side!

In this episode I share a simple model for how spiritual growth occurs based on the work of Fr. Richard Rohr: Order, Disorder, Reorder. We'll talk about each of these 3 stages and how to navigate them with a focus on finding a "thread" that carries you through each time of life, loving the life you have, and learning to cherish change and impermanence.

Today let's talk about how our greatest devastation can lead to transformation and growth. I've experienced it in my own life and have been excited to read the research on Post-Traumatic Growth. This coincided with reading about Dr. Edith Eger who is a survivor of Auschwitz and wrote about her own healing and growth after the horror of her experiences in early life. She writes about having been victimized but not being a victim and how she chooses to be responsible for her own growth and happiness. 

Learn the lesson of impermanence and why it is essential for life.

This episode includes:

Learn how to let go of expectations and your bitterness over life’s disappointments.

This episode includes:

Learn how to find more clarity about your life’s purpose and why it’s not just about choosing the right career path.

This episode includes:

Learn how to make the most of the present moment and give the gift of presence to those you love.

This episode includes:

Learn the importance of forgiveness for moving forward in society, personal life, and spiritual growth.

This episode includes:

In this episode I share how love can transform and heal our lives even during our last days.

This episode includes:

In this episode I discuss how our greatest tragedies can ultimately lead us to growth through the gift of grace. This is the lesson of Suffering, the first of the 7 lessons I learned from my hospice patients. 

This episode includes: