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Your Life is Your Story, Issue #240 – Your Life Changing Event
September 29, 2026
Greetings

"Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams."



Your Life is Your Story Newsletter

September 29, 2026
Your Life is Your Story, Issue #240 – Your Life Changing Event

From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com

In this Issue:
Opening remarks: Be The Change
Featured Article – Your Life Changing Event
Featured Resource – Finding Your Calling

Opening Remarks: Be The Change

There is a famous statement usually attributed to Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi didn’t actually say that, but the idea is a good one. And it probably came out of something he said in a 1913 article for Indian Opinion: “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”

I find this idea so interesting and important. Instead of complaining about things we can work to change ourselves for the better. Then we can share our positive growth with others and inevitably have a better attitude in our life.

Of course that is not always easy. But it is a better way. And I believe our lives all contain events that can be life changing and important to share with others. This month I am sharing an article I wrote years ago about this very subject. I hope you will enjoy reading it and I welcome your feedback.

Thank you so much for being part of the Your Life Is Your Story community. Thanks to all our subscribers. I hope you enjoy this month’s issue.

You are receiving this e-zine because you signed up for it or someone who is subscribed passed it along to you. If a friend DID forward this to you consider subscribing by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine.

– Tom

Featured Article: Your Life Changing Event

Something has happened in your life that is shaping everything you are and do.

If that is not true in your life then it just hasn’t happened yet.
It’s been said that change is inevitable. To exercise a play on words, the only constant in life is change! And at some point in this journey we call life there will be a life changing event.

It may be your marriage, or the birth of your first child. Perhaps it will be overcoming some great trial, like a serious illness or life-threatening addiction.

For many it is the loss of a loved one, through death or separation. Often it is the experience that brings you to a faith in God, or that "something bigger" than all of us. You may be thinking, "Well, that’s true, but actually I’ve had more than one such life changing event."

Great! Not, "great" in the sense of celebration if any of these events were painful and traumatic, but "great" in the broader appreciation that such events have for stretching us and helping us to experience the fullness of life.

You see, we experience that fullness even through loss. Perhaps it is especially through such loss.

I have known these ups and downs of life.

I had a pretty successful radio career at one time. I kept getting better jobs, higher pay and accolades. But when I really grew was when I had the tough challenges of poor ratings, dealing with new formats, ownership changes and getting fired more than once.

I have dealt with career changes and uncertain incomes, all the while working to find a way to provide for my family.

Both of my parents have passed on. Mom in June of 2006 and Dad in January of 2012. It was a privilege to be present to both their deaths.

One of the valuable reasons for preserving your life story is because in the process you will confront these life changing experiences.

You will discover how they affect your beliefs, your actions and the way you view life. Sometimes returning to these memories helps you grow. This can be especially beneficial if any of the events in your past are holding you back from truly living life to the fullest.
Continue reading this article at here.

Featured Resource: Finding Your Calling

All of us yearn to discover our true path in life. You might name this your calling. How do we discover our calling in life? That could be a long conversation, but allow me to suggest a helpful book that addresses this very subject.

Anne Tropeano is a woman who has considered the subject deeply. She is a woman who firmly believes she is called to be a Roman Catholic priest, but the institutional church refuses to ordain women. This has not stopped her from pursuing her calling, despite obstacles and great pressures from those who oppose women ordination.

She calls herself Father Anne and took an alternate path to ordination. Her recent book The Shepherd Within helps you struggle through discovering and following your calling. No matter the obstacles.

She states in the opening of the book, “This text is a collection of insights about the spiritual principles that govern life on earth–laws that emerge from what I call God’s incarnational initiative. I explore how we can recognize God’s inbreaking into our lives, the ways institutions seek to obstruct this inbreaking, and how we can overcome these obstructions to become who we are to bless the world with goodness.”

I found this book to be insightful and helpful regardless of one’s religious or spiritual beliefs. Father Anne’s helpful suggestions for discerning your calling in life are profound for anyone who is examining their life’s journey, which is much of what makes up the work I do with Your Life Is Your Story.

Closing Information

That’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading. Here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.

Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!

Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert

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