The Alchemy of Healing: Transforming Shame and Grief into Fuel for Your Passion and Purpose

Created by the author (in his image) using Dall-E 3

For the past six years, I have been on somewhat of a dismal journey through the murky waters of grief and shame, navigating my way through the loss of my father and the consequences of my own actions.

I am still quite acutely aware of the toll these emotions have taken on my life (and the lives of others I love), and the realization that I must confront them head-on if I am to find peace, as well as the true inspiration that was once an effortless aspect of my identity.

In 2016, my world was shattered when my father passed away unexpectedly. Blunt trauma to the chest, after falling off a latter from two stories up.

Nothing tends to make sense when the one person you always call to tell everything suddenly ceases to exist.

Simultaneously, I grappled with the shame that stemmed from my rather lengthy history with drug/alcohol addiction. In a moment of extreme vulnerability and in what seemed like a hopeless reality, I relapsed shortly after my father’s death.

The shame that consumed me was overwhelming.

To this day, I still have difficulty shaking the image of my father looking down on me…