CHAPTER 28
Inner Peace
To say that this whole story was a transformational journey would be an understatement. Now, don’t get me wrong—Cliff is still the same guy. He’s still a husband, a father, and a doctor juggling the demands of a stressful career and a household with three teenagers, each navigating their own set of challenges. Venus is still sick, and the world hasn’t magically transformed into a utopia where everything goes his way. But Cliff? Cliff has changed in ways that matter.
What's different is that he’s made peace with life as it is—with its peaks and valleys, its marathons and mountains, its moments of triumph and trials of endurance. He’s learned to stop fighting against the tide and instead, flow with it. Inner turmoil has been replaced with inner peace, not because life has become easier, but because he’s become more at ease with it.
Cliff no longer sees life as something to be wrestled into submission. He’s come to understand that life is not a bespoke suit, tailored to his exact measurements. And when life throws him a curveball, he doesn’t waste time resenting it for not going according to plan. Instead, he rolls with the punches, knowing that the fabric of life is meant to be a bit rough around the edges.
Yes, he still has good days and bad days—just like the rest of us. But now, when the sun is shining, Cliff basks in it, fully present and not worrying about when the clouds might roll in. And when those clouds do come, when life takes him into the valleys, he doesn’t dwell on the darkness. He doesn’t ruminate on what went wrong. Instead, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his rosary, and starts counting his blessings.
And you know what? He always finds that the scales tip in his favor. Even on the toughest days, even when things look bleak, he sees the silver lining. He’s learned that every so-called ‘bad time’ carries with it a lesson, a hidden gem of wisdom, or a moment of growth. It’s all about perspective—Cliff’s got that down to an art now.
So, while life may not have changed all that much, Cliff has. And that, in the end, has made all the difference…
