Revisiting the Ashes: September Reflections on Loss, Change, and Beginning Again

Revisiting the Ashes: A September Reflection on Loss, Change, and Beginning Again

There’s something about September that always makes me reflective - even a little philosophical maybe.

I think it’s the shorter days, and the way autumn always feels like both a beginning and an ending.

The shift back to regular routines... and the quiet anniversary I still carry - the one the world doesn’t mark, but is etched in my heart like his name on his wall niche.

It’s a season of change for me. Sometimes joyful. Sometimes heavy. Sometimes both.

Which is why I chose the end of September to revisit one of the earliest - and most personal - episodes of Transformative Journeys.

When I first recorded Building from the Ashes, I was still hesitantly finding my footing as a podcaster… and still trying to figure out how I could take my lived experience - not professional expertise - and use it to build something meaningful. Something that might help others not feel alone on their journey.

In that episode, I shared the story of how I began to rebuild after the sudden loss of my son in a workplace tragedy - and how that grief shattered me. It changed everything I thought I knew about myself and my world.

It shook me to the core - and eventually, it became the beginning of something else.

Not better. Not brighter. Just… different – and eventually in a good way.
More honest. More intentional. More real.

I found strengths I didn’t know I had, and built resilience I didn’t know was possible… and it shifted how I saw myself - my identity.

I’m re-sharing the episode now, not because the story has changed… but because, even in these four short months, I have.

And maybe you have too.

Maybe you’ve been walking through something that’s left you in pieces.
Maybe you’re carrying a quiet grief that the world doesn’t see.
Maybe you’ve felt like you’re too broken to begin again.

If that’s where you are right now - this episode is for you.

Not because I have the answers.

But because I do have a faded, dog-eared, tattered and coffee-stained guide-book - one that was handed to me by wiser folks than I, who have been on this journey even longer.

I don’t always take the right route…

and I still lose my way sometimes…

But I do know the terrain.

Reflection Prompt:
What have you rebuilt from something you thought would break you?

🎧 You can listen to the full episode here:

👉 https://transformativejourneys.ca/podcast-episodes

💜 Free Grief Resource:

If you're looking for something gentle to support you on your journey, I created a guide called Insights for Navigating Grief - it's free, and it’s full of reflection prompts and grounding practices that have helped me over the years.
👉 https://transformativejourneys.ca/johannas-toolboxes