August 7, 2025 • 20 mins
n this moving episode of She Asked: Where Healing Meets Practical Hope, host Anna McBride shares the sacred story of her final road trip with her sister Tish — a journey of grief, love, and letting go. Through vivid storytelling, Anna reflects on Ram Dass’s powerful quote,
“We’re all just walking each other home,”
and explores what it truly means to accompany someone through the hardest transitions of life.
Recorded with heart and honesty, this episode takes you from the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River, through memories, music, and ashes — offering insight into grief recovery, spiritual companionship, and the healing power of connection. Anna weaves her personal experience with wisdom from Ram Dass, scientific research on grief and relationships, and the transformative lessons of walking each other home.
✨ In this episode, you'll hear:
The story of Anna’s sacred promise to her sister
Reflections on grief, recovery, and spiritual connection
The science behind why relationships are essential to healing
Journaling prompts to deepen your own self-reflection
A guided affirmation for honoring the road between souls
💬 Journal Prompts:
Who has walked you home during a hard time?
Who are you walking home right now?
🧡 If this story resonates with you, please share it with someone you love. Subscribe, leave a review, and remember: you are never walking alone.
#GriefHealing #RamDass #WalkingEachOtherHome #Sisterhood #SpiritualGrowth #PracticalHope #SheAskedPodcast #GriefRecovery #ConnectionHeals #HealingJourney #MentalHealthAwareness #LettingGoWithLove #GrandCanyonJourney #PodcastEpisode
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to she Asked.
I'm your host, anna McBride,and I am so glad you're here.
In today's episode, I want toshare a story that changed me
about grief release and thesacred experience of walking
someone home, or, in this case,it was a road trip.
(00:21):
It's a story about the lastroad trip that I took with my
sister, tish, and how thatjourney brought me face to face
with one of Ram Dass's mostenduring teachings.
He's known for this quote we'reall just walking each other
home.
So here's a story.
This is 2017, so it's abouteight years ago.
(00:45):
It was a beautiful springmorning.
I still remember what it feltlike.
It was one of those springmornings where the sky was an
obnoxious shade of blue, the sunshone brightly, but yet wasn't
too intensely hot yet wasn't toointensely hot and the breeze,
(01:08):
the air, was just crisp enoughthat I knew that something was
going to happen.
In fact, it's the kind ofweather that makes me want to go
on an adventure, and so I did.
I set about packing.
I packed very intentionallybecause I had just gotten back
from the Camino de Santiago,some months before that
(01:30):
pilgrimage hike through Spain,and so I knew how to pack.
I packed a backpack with hikingboots and clothes, and, of
course, there was snacks andmusic.
Music was important for anyroad trip, right, it had to be
(01:51):
perfectly curated, carefullycurated, with the favorites, and
in this particular case,because it was involving my
sister, tish, I wanted toinclude hers as well, and one of
her favorite artists wasMelissa Etheridge, and so I put
those on the soundtrack.
There was also something else Ipacked, and, as I said that,
(02:14):
for a road trip, what you needit's an essential ingredient is
a co-pilot.
You need someone who is yourtrusted co-pilot, someone who's
going to help you navigate,someone who is your trusted
co-pilot, someone who's going tohelp you navigate, help you
keep track of the directions,maybe give you some unsolicited
opinions, right, that's whatTish was really known for, and
(02:34):
we were known for our road trips.
We went on many, whether forhiking, or.
Most memorable was when shewent away to college in Colorado
.
I drove her out there and then,after she was done, four years
later, I went out, got her anddrove her back and we had the
best laughs.
We ate poorly, we blasted themusic loudly and she was my
(02:59):
favorite co-pilot ever, and thistrip that I'm talking about was
no exception, except this timeshe came in canister form.
What I mean by that?
She had been cremated.
This was after Tish had passedaway.
I got permission from herhusband to take some of her
(03:20):
ashes with me on this road tripto the Grand Canyon.
And the Grand Canyon hike wasgoing to involve going from the
rim down to the Colorado River,which the Colorado River was one
of Tisha's favorite places inthe whole wide world and I was
going to take her ashes thereand release her back.
(03:41):
It was a sisterly promise.
I remember as children that wecommitted to each other to have
adventures in life.
Back then we were daydreamingwith National Geographic and as
we got older and technologycaught up, we had pictures and
movies and videos and tripstogether where we got to
(04:04):
experience some great things,and I wanted my final release of
her to be no different.
So I got her ashes, got thesnacks, got the music, got the
clothes, got the backpack, gotthe hiking boots and set off for
the Grand Canyon.
Took me a few days to get thereand the odd thing was one thing
(04:26):
that I didn't appreciate orcalculate until I arrived was
the timing.
I arrived at the Grand Canyon onMemorial Day weekend, and it's
so funny to me now because ofthe fact that I'm such a planner
of trips I'm known for that.
However, that particular timeclearly lost in some sort of
(04:47):
grief.
I lost track of time and space,and so when I arrived there and
realized that it was MemorialDay weekend, I didn't understand
the date until I saw the sea ofpeople with selfie sticks and
all the children and thefamilies and the groups and the
buses and the population.
I was like, oh my gosh.
(05:08):
I had this idea that it wasgoing to be a sacred moment, a
quiet servitude of celebratingher life.
Before I released her, and itcouldn't have been more of the
opposite if I tried, sodetermined to do my sisterly
promise, I pressed forward andput her in my backpack, got all
(05:30):
situated, started hiking on thetrail to go down to the basin
where the Colorado River accessis, and as I was making my way
along the trail, right before Iwas about to head down, to start
going down the trail to thebottom, I was met with a park
ranger, and it is apparently apart of their practice to check
(05:53):
in and make sure anyone goingdown to the basin has a
reservation to camp down there.
There are only so many sitesand not everybody who goes down
can camp.
And when I told him no, my planwas to go straight down and
back up in the same day helooked at me and said lady, that
(06:14):
is not a good idea.
And I cocked my head and lookedback at him with dismay.
And then he asked me had I everhiked at the Grand Canyon
before?
And I told him very quickly no,this was my first time.
And then he asked me had I everhiked at the Grand Canyon
before?
And I told him very quickly no,this was my first time.
And I was excited.
And his response to that wasit's not recommended for
first-timers to hike down to theriver.
(06:35):
It's not, because the elevationchanges alone are really
intense and that time of yearthe heat index at the bottom was
going to be pretty ridiculous.
In fact, I think they werepredicting about over 100
degrees at the base.
So I looked at him without anyproblem appearing in my mind and
(06:58):
just nodded, to which I thensaid I hiked the Camino, and he
blinked for a moment and saidthe Camino de Santiago, and I
said yes, yes, and then I wenton and said I hiked all 724
miles of it in under 42 days andin the dead heat of summer, and
probably because of thatstatement, as well as the fact
(07:21):
that he could read on my faceand in my body language that I
was not going to do this that herelented, handed me an extra
bottle of water and said buencamino.
And I went on my way.
I did the descent down to thebase and when I got down there
(07:42):
getting down wasn't the problem.
Finding a private space toscatter ashes was because there
were so many people I had in mymind this idea that it was going
to be a heartfelt ceremony,like a river-related type of
declaration, maybe some personalreflection, before I released
(08:03):
her ashes and instead I had tograb the first moment of space.
I could opened up the canisterof space.
I could opened up the canisterand before I flung her ashes, I
said out loud there you go, sis,back to the wild.
And her ashes just scatteredthrough the sky due to the
little breeze.
There was danced a little bitand then disappeared into the
(08:25):
water, and I can rememberthinking that was just like her.
She had such great presence fora flash and then she would go
on to the next thing and Ithought that was very in keeping
with who she was, thatexperience and then I made my
way back up and that was a wholeother part of the story.
(08:46):
Yet what I know from thatexperience was that I was
committed to seeing her through.
I did my best to save her fromthe dreaded disease that she was
afflicted with alcoholism, andthen, when she passed, I helped
(09:07):
her family handle all thefuneral arrangements.
I actually gave the eulogy,handle all the funeral
arrangements.
I actually gave the eulogy, andI saw that as a part of walking
her home Years before thisactual story happened.
The great gift of studying at acenter out in California that
(09:28):
was run by Deepak Chopra and oneof his guests while I was there
was Ram Dass, and Ram Dass haswritten many famous books, be
here Now being one of the ones Ilove, and his quote that has
always resonated is we're alljust walking each other home
(09:50):
Like.
That's why we're here.
We're here to witness, we'rehere to witness, we're here to
connect, we're here to betogether with other people in
relationship with other people,and if you are lucky, you'll get
to love somebody.
I did with my sister, so all ofthat was a sacred journey, to
(10:11):
which then I was able to helpher get to where she was going
to the other side and it'sreally helped me to understand
and appreciate what that means.
And because of that experienceand the fact that I've had many
chances to tell this story indifferent ways through the moth
(10:34):
storytelling community, I canreally see how connection is
probably one of the mostimportant things that we as
humans are here to do.
So I want to share with yousome information about Ram Dass,
and some research has furtherhelped me to understand what
(10:57):
this whole story means and toput it into context and frame it
for you.
Ram Dass, if you don't know, isthis very famous person who was
a guru to many people andformerly known as Richard Alpert
.
He was a Harvard psychologistback in the 1960s.
(11:23):
He was a radical.
He did a lot of research.
I'm using air quotes because heand one of his partners in work
study were checking out theeffects of psychedelics and how
they could help expand the mind,expand your world.
After a trip he took to Indiaback in the 1960s he had a
(11:46):
spiritual transformation whichthen had him change his name to
Ram Dass, and he became ateacher of mindfulness,
compassion and presence.
Those were his threecornerstones.
This quote that I mentionedwe're all just walking each
other home is probably thecenter of all of his teaching.
(12:07):
It's honoring the shared humanjourney.
It's honoring the human, theshared human journey.
It perfectly describes thistrip I had with my sister in my
life, as well as the ending ofit is that we, she and I, were
(12:30):
so connected connected enoughthat we saw each other as the
important people that we were.
We got to witness and watchvery important milestones our
weddings, our children beingborn.
We went on together with ourfamilies as well as by ourselves
and to hear her strugglestowards the end with this
addiction that she had thatended up taking her life.
(12:53):
I really got to see her in allforms.
There was no real hiding.
I saw her and she saw me.
And when I was thinking aboutthe role that this quote has
played in my life, I think aboutthe teaching from Ram Dass is
(13:14):
very wise and yet it's verybuilt on scientific research
which there has been trackingsince 1953.
There was a study at Harvardwhich he was involved with in
terms of understanding theimportance of quality
relationships.
The study actually began in1938 when he was just a student,
(13:37):
but it really became more truewhen he was actively working
there later.
And the study looked at howrelationships help people reseal
through difficult times intheir life, which grief is
considered, obviously, somethingvery difficult to reseal from
(13:58):
People who felt connected orfelt like they had someone to
witness and watch them and helpthem through, showed a higher
percentage of an ability toreseal from difficult life
circumstances, whether that's adeath of a loved one, a setback
(14:18):
financially or something intheir health, loved one, a
setback financially or somethingin their health.
Connection isn't just poetic,it's practical, proven and
essential to navigating griefand growth.
There's also another study thatI want to mention about social
connection and grief recovery.
Specifically, there is anotherstudy that I want to mention
(14:42):
here that came up in the 2021Journal of Transpersonal
Psychology, a study aboutspiritual companionship and how
it supports long-termpsychological well-being.
In this study, in this journal,they were reflecting over
decades of separate, differentstudies and how the essential
(15:05):
ingredient in all of them wasthe personal connection that the
stronger the personalconnection, the stronger the
ability for someone to be ableto handle things like grief.
Grief, remember, isn't justabout losing somebody.
It can be about a pivot in yourlife.
(15:25):
It can be about a loss of apossession, not just a
relationship or a loved one, andso grieving anything is made
easier when you feel a strongpersonal connection with someone
of matter to you, and I findthat, when I think about this
(15:48):
story with my sister, whathelped me through the loss of
that was that I have beenblessed with an ability to
strongly connect with otherpeople.
Even though I struggled to askfor help, even though I struggle
to admit what I'm struggling, Iknow that I have people who
(16:10):
love me and I have people whosupport me, listen to me, and
often I'm the last person whoreaches out for help.
However, I have people whoreach out to me and check in on
me, and I find what I'm reallygetting to the point on is
understanding that we need tosee both as a part of this
(16:33):
process of human connection.
It's not just about me reachingout and asking for help,
although that's important.
It's also about other peoplereaching out to me and checking
on me.
The quality of my connectionmatters to how I get through
things in life, and that is away of feeling like I'm being
(16:58):
walked through my life.
I'm not alone, like I'm beingwalked through my life, I'm not
alone.
I may have a tendency towardsisolation, yet I have a stronger
desire to connect, and sopeople who reach out to me, I
will respond.
And because I know howimportant that is to my mental
(17:18):
health as well as to theirs, itis reciprocal.
So now I want to offer you achance now to maybe do some
self-study through journaling.
I want to offer you a prompt toconsider, to write about.
Here's the question who haswalked you home in your life?
(17:39):
Who has walked you through somedifficult times in your life,
whether it's through grief,through transition or even
growth, because sometimes growthcan create a bit of controversy
or problems.
I know when I've gone throughpersonal growth, it can feel
overwhelming.
(17:59):
So who has walked you throughthat stuff?
Name them, write them down inyour notes so that you can
really see that there is thatconnection for you.
And if there isn't someone thatyou can think of, I want to
challenge you to really begin tobuild the bridge Because, as I
(18:23):
laid out in this research that Imentioned, it is essential,
which means you need to add itto your life in order to have
the quality, as well as thehealth, that we all want and
deserve.
And here's the second questionwe all want and deserve.
And here's the second questionwho are you walking home right
(18:45):
now?
Who are you reaching out to,checking in on staying connected
with?
As I said, it's a reciprocalconnection.
What we give to others, wereceive back In recovery.
We say that in order to keep it, we have to give it away.
(19:05):
So it's a great opportunity toreflect on if I'm not connecting
or reaching out or doingservice.
That way, I benefit just asmuch by helping somebody else.
The work, the help I did withtaking my sister back home to
the wild and helping her familywalk through the grief of her
(19:28):
funeral process helped me inways that I am just now starting
to understand.
Now I want to offer you anaffirmation, something to
consider and maybe write about,but certainly to acknowledge
yourself on.
So I want to invite you to justclose your eyes, take a deep
breath in with me and thenexhale as you continue to
(19:51):
breathe in and out.
Affirm yourself with the words,silently I honor the sacred
road between souls.
I honor the sacred road betweensouls.
I do not walk alone and I donot ask others to walk alone.
(20:12):
We are all just walking eachother home.
So let those words sink, in,let them affirm for you why I I
believe we are all really here.
We're all witnesses to eachother's lives, to our own life,
(20:33):
and our lives are made better bythe connection to others.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with
someone you love.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with
someone you love.
Leave a review, subscribe andknow this you are never walking
alone.
No-transcript.
Welcome back to she Asked.
I'm your host, anna McBride,and I am so glad you're here.
In today's episode, I want toshare a story that changed me
about grief release and thesacred experience of walking
someone home, or, in this case,it was a road trip.
(00:21):
It's a story about the lastroad trip that I took with my
sister, tish, and how thatjourney brought me face to face
with one of Ram Dass's mostenduring teachings.
He's known for this quote we'reall just walking each other
home.
So here's a story.
This is 2017, so it's abouteight years ago.
(00:45):
It was a beautiful springmorning.
I still remember what it feltlike.
It was one of those springmornings where the sky was an
obnoxious shade of blue, the sunshone brightly, but yet wasn't
too intensely hot yet wasn't toointensely hot and the breeze,
(01:08):
the air, was just crisp enoughthat I knew that something was
going to happen.
In fact, it's the kind ofweather that makes me want to go
on an adventure, and so I did.
I set about packing.
I packed very intentionallybecause I had just gotten back
from the Camino de Santiago,some months before that
(01:30):
pilgrimage hike through Spain,and so I knew how to pack.
I packed a backpack with hikingboots and clothes, and, of
course, there was snacks andmusic.
Music was important for anyroad trip, right, it had to be
(01:51):
perfectly curated, carefullycurated, with the favorites, and
in this particular case,because it was involving my
sister, tish, I wanted toinclude hers as well, and one of
her favorite artists wasMelissa Etheridge, and so I put
those on the soundtrack.
There was also something else Ipacked, and, as I said that,
(02:14):
for a road trip, what you needit's an essential ingredient is
a co-pilot.
You need someone who is yourtrusted co-pilot, someone who's
going to help you navigate,someone who is your trusted
co-pilot, someone who's going tohelp you navigate, help you
keep track of the directions,maybe give you some unsolicited
opinions, right, that's whatTish was really known for, and
(02:34):
we were known for our road trips.
We went on many, whether forhiking, or.
Most memorable was when shewent away to college in Colorado
.
I drove her out there and then,after she was done, four years
later, I went out, got her anddrove her back and we had the
best laughs.
We ate poorly, we blasted themusic loudly and she was my
(02:59):
favorite co-pilot ever, and thistrip that I'm talking about was
no exception, except this timeshe came in canister form.
What I mean by that?
She had been cremated.
This was after Tish had passedaway.
I got permission from herhusband to take some of her
(03:20):
ashes with me on this road tripto the Grand Canyon.
And the Grand Canyon hike wasgoing to involve going from the
rim down to the Colorado River,which the Colorado River was one
of Tisha's favorite places inthe whole wide world and I was
going to take her ashes thereand release her back.
(03:41):
It was a sisterly promise.
I remember as children that wecommitted to each other to have
adventures in life.
Back then we were daydreamingwith National Geographic and as
we got older and technologycaught up, we had pictures and
movies and videos and tripstogether where we got to
(04:04):
experience some great things,and I wanted my final release of
her to be no different.
So I got her ashes, got thesnacks, got the music, got the
clothes, got the backpack, gotthe hiking boots and set off for
the Grand Canyon.
Took me a few days to get thereand the odd thing was one thing
(04:26):
that I didn't appreciate orcalculate until I arrived was
the timing.
I arrived at the Grand Canyon onMemorial Day weekend, and it's
so funny to me now because ofthe fact that I'm such a planner
of trips I'm known for that.
However, that particular timeclearly lost in some sort of
(04:47):
grief.
I lost track of time and space,and so when I arrived there and
realized that it was MemorialDay weekend, I didn't understand
the date until I saw the sea ofpeople with selfie sticks and
all the children and thefamilies and the groups and the
buses and the population.
I was like, oh my gosh.
(05:08):
I had this idea that it wasgoing to be a sacred moment, a
quiet servitude of celebratingher life.
Before I released her, and itcouldn't have been more of the
opposite if I tried, sodetermined to do my sisterly
promise, I pressed forward andput her in my backpack, got all
(05:30):
situated, started hiking on thetrail to go down to the basin
where the Colorado River accessis, and as I was making my way
along the trail, right before Iwas about to head down, to start
going down the trail to thebottom, I was met with a park
ranger, and it is apparently apart of their practice to check
(05:53):
in and make sure anyone goingdown to the basin has a
reservation to camp down there.
There are only so many sitesand not everybody who goes down
can camp.
And when I told him no, my planwas to go straight down and
back up in the same day helooked at me and said lady, that
(06:14):
is not a good idea.
And I cocked my head and lookedback at him with dismay.
And then he asked me had I everhiked at the Grand Canyon
before?
And I told him very quickly no,this was my first time.
And then he asked me had I everhiked at the Grand Canyon
before?
And I told him very quickly no,this was my first time.
And I was excited.
And his response to that wasit's not recommended for
first-timers to hike down to theriver.
(06:35):
It's not, because the elevationchanges alone are really
intense and that time of yearthe heat index at the bottom was
going to be pretty ridiculous.
In fact, I think they werepredicting about over 100
degrees at the base.
So I looked at him without anyproblem appearing in my mind and
(06:58):
just nodded, to which I thensaid I hiked the Camino, and he
blinked for a moment and saidthe Camino de Santiago, and I
said yes, yes, and then I wenton and said I hiked all 724
miles of it in under 42 days andin the dead heat of summer, and
probably because of thatstatement, as well as the fact
(07:21):
that he could read on my faceand in my body language that I
was not going to do this that herelented, handed me an extra
bottle of water and said buencamino.
And I went on my way.
I did the descent down to thebase and when I got down there
(07:42):
getting down wasn't the problem.
Finding a private space toscatter ashes was because there
were so many people I had in mymind this idea that it was going
to be a heartfelt ceremony,like a river-related type of
declaration, maybe some personalreflection, before I released
(08:03):
her ashes and instead I had tograb the first moment of space.
I could opened up the canisterof space.
I could opened up the canisterand before I flung her ashes, I
said out loud there you go, sis,back to the wild.
And her ashes just scatteredthrough the sky due to the
little breeze.
There was danced a little bitand then disappeared into the
(08:25):
water, and I can rememberthinking that was just like her.
She had such great presence fora flash and then she would go
on to the next thing and Ithought that was very in keeping
with who she was, thatexperience and then I made my
way back up and that was a wholeother part of the story.
(08:46):
Yet what I know from thatexperience was that I was
committed to seeing her through.
I did my best to save her fromthe dreaded disease that she was
afflicted with alcoholism, andthen, when she passed, I helped
(09:07):
her family handle all thefuneral arrangements.
I actually gave the eulogy,handle all the funeral
arrangements.
I actually gave the eulogy, andI saw that as a part of walking
her home Years before thisactual story happened.
The great gift of studying at acenter out in California that
(09:28):
was run by Deepak Chopra and oneof his guests while I was there
was Ram Dass, and Ram Dass haswritten many famous books, be
here Now being one of the ones Ilove, and his quote that has
always resonated is we're alljust walking each other home
(09:50):
Like.
That's why we're here.
We're here to witness, we'rehere to witness, we're here to
connect, we're here to betogether with other people in
relationship with other people,and if you are lucky, you'll get
to love somebody.
I did with my sister, so all ofthat was a sacred journey, to
(10:11):
which then I was able to helpher get to where she was going
to the other side and it'sreally helped me to understand
and appreciate what that means.
And because of that experienceand the fact that I've had many
chances to tell this story indifferent ways through the moth
(10:34):
storytelling community, I canreally see how connection is
probably one of the mostimportant things that we as
humans are here to do.
So I want to share with yousome information about Ram Dass,
and some research has furtherhelped me to understand what
(10:57):
this whole story means and toput it into context and frame it
for you.
Ram Dass, if you don't know, isthis very famous person who was
a guru to many people andformerly known as Richard Alpert
.
He was a Harvard psychologistback in the 1960s.
(11:23):
He was a radical.
He did a lot of research.
I'm using air quotes because heand one of his partners in work
study were checking out theeffects of psychedelics and how
they could help expand the mind,expand your world.
After a trip he took to Indiaback in the 1960s he had a
(11:46):
spiritual transformation whichthen had him change his name to
Ram Dass, and he became ateacher of mindfulness,
compassion and presence.
Those were his threecornerstones.
This quote that I mentionedwe're all just walking each
other home is probably thecenter of all of his teaching.
(12:07):
It's honoring the shared humanjourney.
It's honoring the human, theshared human journey.
It perfectly describes thistrip I had with my sister in my
life, as well as the ending ofit is that we, she and I, were
(12:30):
so connected connected enoughthat we saw each other as the
important people that we were.
We got to witness and watchvery important milestones our
weddings, our children beingborn.
We went on together with ourfamilies as well as by ourselves
and to hear her strugglestowards the end with this
addiction that she had thatended up taking her life.
(12:53):
I really got to see her in allforms.
There was no real hiding.
I saw her and she saw me.
And when I was thinking aboutthe role that this quote has
played in my life, I think aboutthe teaching from Ram Dass is
(13:14):
very wise and yet it's verybuilt on scientific research
which there has been trackingsince 1953.
There was a study at Harvardwhich he was involved with in
terms of understanding theimportance of quality
relationships.
The study actually began in1938 when he was just a student,
(13:37):
but it really became more truewhen he was actively working
there later.
And the study looked at howrelationships help people reseal
through difficult times intheir life, which grief is
considered, obviously, somethingvery difficult to reseal from
(13:58):
People who felt connected orfelt like they had someone to
witness and watch them and helpthem through, showed a higher
percentage of an ability toreseal from difficult life
circumstances, whether that's adeath of a loved one, a setback
(14:18):
financially or something intheir health, loved one, a
setback financially or somethingin their health.
Connection isn't just poetic,it's practical, proven and
essential to navigating griefand growth.
There's also another study thatI want to mention about social
connection and grief recovery.
Specifically, there is anotherstudy that I want to mention
(14:42):
here that came up in the 2021Journal of Transpersonal
Psychology, a study aboutspiritual companionship and how
it supports long-termpsychological well-being.
In this study, in this journal,they were reflecting over
decades of separate, differentstudies and how the essential
(15:05):
ingredient in all of them wasthe personal connection that the
stronger the personalconnection, the stronger the
ability for someone to be ableto handle things like grief.
Grief, remember, isn't justabout losing somebody.
It can be about a pivot in yourlife.
(15:25):
It can be about a loss of apossession, not just a
relationship or a loved one, andso grieving anything is made
easier when you feel a strongpersonal connection with someone
of matter to you, and I findthat, when I think about this
(15:48):
story with my sister, whathelped me through the loss of
that was that I have beenblessed with an ability to
strongly connect with otherpeople.
Even though I struggled to askfor help, even though I struggle
to admit what I'm struggling, Iknow that I have people who
(16:10):
love me and I have people whosupport me, listen to me, and
often I'm the last person whoreaches out for help.
However, I have people whoreach out to me and check in on
me, and I find what I'm reallygetting to the point on is
understanding that we need tosee both as a part of this
(16:33):
process of human connection.
It's not just about me reachingout and asking for help,
although that's important.
It's also about other peoplereaching out to me and checking
on me.
The quality of my connectionmatters to how I get through
things in life, and that is away of feeling like I'm being
(16:58):
walked through my life.
I'm not alone, like I'm beingwalked through my life, I'm not
alone.
I may have a tendency towardsisolation, yet I have a stronger
desire to connect, and sopeople who reach out to me, I
will respond.
And because I know howimportant that is to my mental
(17:18):
health as well as to theirs, itis reciprocal.
So now I want to offer you achance now to maybe do some
self-study through journaling.
I want to offer you a prompt toconsider, to write about.
Here's the question who haswalked you home in your life?
(17:39):
Who has walked you through somedifficult times in your life,
whether it's through grief,through transition or even
growth, because sometimes growthcan create a bit of controversy
or problems.
I know when I've gone throughpersonal growth, it can feel
overwhelming.
(17:59):
So who has walked you throughthat stuff?
Name them, write them down inyour notes so that you can
really see that there is thatconnection for you.
And if there isn't someone thatyou can think of, I want to
challenge you to really begin tobuild the bridge Because, as I
(18:23):
laid out in this research that Imentioned, it is essential,
which means you need to add itto your life in order to have
the quality, as well as thehealth, that we all want and
deserve.
And here's the second questionwe all want and deserve.
And here's the second questionwho are you walking home right
(18:45):
now?
Who are you reaching out to,checking in on staying connected
with?
As I said, it's a reciprocalconnection.
What we give to others, wereceive back In recovery.
We say that in order to keep it, we have to give it away.
(19:05):
So it's a great opportunity toreflect on if I'm not connecting
or reaching out or doingservice.
That way, I benefit just asmuch by helping somebody else.
The work, the help I did withtaking my sister back home to
the wild and helping her familywalk through the grief of her
(19:28):
funeral process helped me inways that I am just now starting
to understand.
Now I want to offer you anaffirmation, something to
consider and maybe write about,but certainly to acknowledge
yourself on.
So I want to invite you to justclose your eyes, take a deep
breath in with me and thenexhale as you continue to
(19:51):
breathe in and out.
Affirm yourself with the words,silently I honor the sacred
road between souls.
I honor the sacred road betweensouls.
I do not walk alone and I donot ask others to walk alone.
(20:12):
We are all just walking eachother home.
So let those words sink, in,let them affirm for you why I I
believe we are all really here.
We're all witnesses to eachother's lives, to our own life,
(20:33):
and our lives are made better bythe connection to others.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with
someone you love.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with
someone you love.
Leave a review, subscribe andknow this you are never walking
alone.
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