Guidance By Li

09/04/2026

🔔 𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗣𝗦 🔔

All of our groups are free and open to the public! Each group is held in the Community Room at Forastiere Smith Funeral & Cremation, 220 North Main Street, East Longmeadow, MA

We’ve added a new support group to the list! Partners in Balance: Bipolar Support Circle will begin on Wednesday, September 16th. This group is designed for spouses and partners of those living with bipolar disorder. We are requiring registration for our first meeting. You can register by visiting www.forastiere.com.

If you have any questions regarding any of our groups, reach out to us by calling (413) 733 - 5311 (reaches all of our locations) or send us an email at [email protected].
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09/04/2026

Setting a boundary isn’t about controlling someone else, it’s about deciding what you’re willing to participate in ❤️.

People may be disappointed. They may not understand it, and they may even be angry about it.
But reaction doesn’t make your boundary wrong (there I said it) 🤷‍♀️.

You can care about someone and still say no. You can love someone and still protect your peace, and you don’t have to keep abandoning yourself just to keep other people comfortable.

I have to actively work on this every single day because I always want to help everyone that I can, but I am also only one of me & stretching myself too thin isn’t healthy, but it is necessary ❤️🫶🏼.

We spend way too much time judging other people’s decisions, instead of repurposing that time to connect ourselves to something that brings us value.

Lean into what feels right for you & the more you do it, the more you recognize how much positive power it holds 🙏🏼❤️. Have a great Friday friends! With Light & Love, ~Li

09/04/2026

Very exciting stuff Empower Health Group 🦁❤️. I sure wish there was more available support 12+ years ago before I lost my brother to addiction 🥺, but it fills my heart to know how involved my husband is now in an effort to provide support 🙏🏼.
Great work Dan Smola! Can’t wait to see what’s coming 🫶🏼❤️!

A new chapter for Empower Health Group is beginning in Springfield, and we’d love for you to be part of it.

Join us for the Grand Opening of our new Springfield location on October 29th as we open our doors to the community, introduce you to our team and new space, and celebrate the opportunity to bring compassionate, evidence-based substance use disorder care to more people across Western Massachusetts.

RSVP at the link below. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

https://evite.me/jqVenAqAfy

09/03/2026

I work with so many grieving people that desperately want to get back to the old version of themselves before they lose someone or something they love so deeply 😔.

But I have to gently introduce the idea that we aren't necessarily trying to "get back" to who we were before the loss. When we deeply love someone or something, that love becomes part of us, and when we lose their physical being, that changes us too.

There may be pieces of the old you that come back -some of your interests, your energy, your ability to feel joy at times, but you are carrying something now that you weren't carrying before, so tell me...how could you be the same person now?

Your goal shouldn't be to find your way back to the old version you used to be, but rather to slowly get to know the person you are becoming, and to trust that this version of you can still have a beautiful, meaningful life (while carrying your grief with you). 💕.

I am grateful you have found this community of support 🙏. With Light & Love, ~Li

09/03/2026

We spend so much time waiting and kicking the can 😕. We wait until we feel ready, until life settles down, until we have more confidence, more money, more time, or less fear. But sometimes you just have to start where you are, with what you have.
Set the overarching goal and do one task daily that keeps you on track to achieve it 🫶🏼💜.

You don’t have to completely change your life today. You just have to do something today that your future self will be grateful you finally did 🙏🏼❤️. LFG Friends! You can do this! With Light & Love, ~Li

09/02/2026

I am calling on my tribe…Soliciting volunteers to help one of my seniors in need 🙏🏼❤️.

I have a senior woman in need of help that lives in the Springfield, MA area. I can only accept help from someone I know (because I am putting this out on social media & there is a risk).

She is having a number of medical issues that is preventing her from doing most daily functions. She needs help with rides to appointments, help shopping, help with basic things around her home. She can’t afford traditional services, and is having a hard time with the services offered to her for her income because people are not reliable or quite frankly competent at times 🥺.

I have provided her with some local resources in an effort to help and one of the senior centers has stepped in to try as well, but nothing is really coming to fruition to meet her needs. If anyone out there would be willing to help, please send me a message 🙏🏼. My heart breaks for her and it saddens me that there are so many others just like her out there 💔.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and for your consideration 🙏🏼. With Love, ~Li

09/02/2026

We say it all the time.

Getting through school is hard.
Raising kids is hard.
Starting over is hard.
Grief is hard.
Healing is hard.
Getting sober is hard.
Leaving something that isn’t good for you is hard.
Taking care of your body is hard.
Setting boundaries is hard.
Going after something you really want is hard.
Watching your kid grow up and begin a life of their own is hard 🥺❤️.

But maybe hard isn’t always the enemy friends 🙏🏼.

Sometimes hard is the price of admission for the life we actually want.

My daughter is starting her senior year, and if there’s one thing I hope she carries with her into whatever comes next, it’s this:

On the other side of hard is so much of what is worth fighting for.

So today’s affirmation is simple:

I can do hard things, and I won’t let hard convince me that I can’t.
Do the thing anyways, even when you don’t want to & I promise if you do it everyday you will reap the benefits from it 🫶🏼❤️.

Love you guys to the moon and back! Hope you have an awesome day! Time for a shower and work ✔️! Peace & Love, ~Li

09/02/2026

Rhi’s first day of senior year and I wanted to take a picture of her. The house was too dark this morning so she said let’s go outside. Right when we walked out the door, this little red dragonfly was sitting there 🥺❤️😇.

Red dragonflies were the first signs we ever recieved from my brother. He’s always with you B, a built in guardian angel. I hope you have the greatest senior year 🙌. ~Mom xoxoxo

Dan Smola
Kristine Muise
Ray Muise
Lisa Muise

09/01/2026

One of the greatest opportunities we have as adults is getting to go back and love the younger version of ourselves in all the ways they needed and deserved.

At some point, healing becomes less about treating yourself like a problem that needs to be fixed and more about finally understanding yourself ❤️. Offering yourself compassion instead of criticism, patience instead of pressure, empathy instead of judgment.

You get to become the safe place you may have spent your whole life looking for & isn’t it amazing that you hold the ability to give yourself that space 🥰.

You don’t have to keep punishing yourself for the ways you learned to survive. You can understand them, thank them for getting you here, and begin choosing differently.

I am working on a workshop to offer for those that would be interested 📚💜. I feel like there are so many people that could benefit from getting to a point where they love and care for themselves in a way they haven’t learned how 🙏🏼. Details coming soon!

With Light & Love, ~Li

09/01/2026

Let me be very clear about something...
Functioning does not mean someone is doing "okay". Grievers are often the best fakers. We put a face on for everyone else, we answer that we are doing FINE, and most people we interact with during the day would have no idea the depths of pain we are in 💔.

We literally almost NEVER have any idea what most people are going through that we come in contact with on a daily basis. So if you see someone that has lost a loved one, and they are smiling in public, laughing with a friend, please don't make the assumption that their heart is any less broken. They are just finding a way to travel with their grief.

When a loss is significant enough, grief never leaves us. Which is why I believe with all my heart that we need to treat others with greater compassion and empathy 💕. Here's an idea...try sharing love instead of judgement 🥰🙏.
Give a hug instead of sharing your opinion about how you think they should be handling things.

We are better and stronger together friends. Doing my best to continue to educate in this space. Please share, because we need more of it! With Light & Love, ~Li