This week on WORDS MATTER, Deanna Ley, The Catalytic Coach, shares a quote that didn’t come from a book or a podcast — but from the raw middle of her own healing journey:

“I deal with it, so I can heal with it.”

Born from lived experience, this mantra isn’t about moving from pain — it’s about moving with it. In this episode, Deanna invites listeners to stop abandoning themselves in the struggle and instead, learn how to be with what hurts — with honesty, compassion, and deep self-devotion.

She brings in a powerful metaphor from wildlife photographer Michael Hodges: the bison. Known for facing storms head-on instead of running from them, the bison becomes a living picture of what healing actually looks like — steady, rooted, present.

What Listeners Will Learn:
• Why healing isn’t about escape — it’s about presence
• The difference between fixing and walking with what hurts
• How curiosity becomes a gateway to healing
• What it means to “BE THE BISON” in real-life moments
• Why impulses are signals, not shame
• How to stop abandoning yourself — and start walking with yourself, instead

Memorable Quotes:
• “I deal with it, so I can heal with it.” – Deanna Ley
• “Healing didn’t happen when I finally escaped what hurt. Healing happened when I chose to stop abandoning myself in the middle of it.”
• “Facing a storm shortens the storm. Running from it only prolongs the pain.”
• “BE THE BISON.”
• “That impulse isn't weakness. It's a signal. It's your body saying, ‘Something needs attention.’”
• “Healing is not about arriving. It's about returning — over and over and over — to the part of you that refuses to give up.”

This episode is a truth-telling, storm-facing, soul-honoring invitation to stay. To listen. To return. Not perfectly — but wholly. With compassion, with courage, and yes — with bison-like strength.

Your WORDS MATTER, because YOU MATTER.

Here's Michael's video that inspired today's WORDS: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14Hi8zQskUj/

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