In that I found being able to talk to my family about my

Hear the tender yet powerful words of Marlo Thomas: “In that I found being able to talk to my family about my feelings, praying for strength and realizing that our lives have a deep purpose and the journey of our lives is to find out what that is and express it, was the only way I could have gotten through it.” These are words born not in triumph alone, but in struggle, for it is in the shadow of difficulty that such wisdom is forged. They speak of the anchors that hold the soul steady when storms rage: the embrace of family, the lifting of prayer, and the discovery of purpose.

Thomas points first to the strength found in family, the circle of love that binds hearts together. To share one’s feelings openly is not weakness, but courage—the courage to be seen, the courage to be known, the courage to receive comfort. For in the ancient days, tribes gathered around the fire to share burdens, and in the telling of sorrows, they found healing. So too does the modern soul need the same: to speak, to be heard, and to draw power from the bonds of kinship.

Next, she speaks of prayer, that timeless turning of the soul toward what is higher. To pray is to admit that strength is not always within us, but must be drawn from the well of the eternal. In prayer, the weary find renewal, the broken find healing, and the lost find direction. Even the mightiest heroes of history—Moses before the Red Sea, Joan of Arc before battle, Lincoln before a divided nation—turned their hearts to the heavens for strength. So too Thomas reminds us that prayer is not escape, but empowerment, lifting the spirit when the body falters.

But her words go deeper still. She speaks of purpose, that hidden current beneath the surface of life. Many live without knowing it, drifting from day to day as ships without rudders. Yet the trials of life press us to ask: Why am I here? What is my task? To discover one’s purpose is to find the treasure buried within the soul, and to express it is to live not merely as a shadow, but as a flame. For without purpose, suffering is unbearable; but with purpose, even suffering can be transformed into a path of greatness.

Consider the story of Viktor Frankl, survivor of the concentration camps. Surrounded by death, stripped of everything, he endured by clinging to a single truth: that life has meaning, even in suffering. He found strength in imagining his lectures after freedom, in holding to love, in believing that his pain could serve a higher end. His teaching became immortal: man can survive any “how” if he has a “why.” Marlo Thomas echoes the same wisdom—purpose is the guiding star that carries us through the darkest nights.

Understand this, O seeker: the journey of life is not to escape pain, but to find out what your purpose is and express it. When you combine family, prayer, and purpose, you build a fortress of the soul. Family gives you roots, prayer gives you wings, and purpose gives you direction. These three together form the path of endurance and the song of a life well lived.

Let this be your lesson: in times of trial, do not walk alone—speak to your family, for their love is your first sanctuary. Do not rely only on yourself—pray, for strength comes also from above. And do not wander without meaning—seek your purpose, for it will transform every hardship into a stepping stone.

Thus is the teaching of Marlo Thomas: that only through family, through prayer, and through the discovery of purpose, can one endure the weight of sorrow and rise renewed. Embrace these truths, and your life will not be merely survival, but a journey of depth, of beauty, and of unshakable strength.