Today has been a good day. It’s a day I dream about when thinking about improving my mental health. Even though I went to work at a job I ultimately am not passionate about nor want to continue for much longer, my mindset was totally different. I don’t know if it’s the new medication but... Continue Reading →
Working Through Shattered Illusions and Finding Your Spark Again
I have this looming sense that I am bound for something greater than what life is providing right now. I feel like I’m sitting in a cold, dark waiting room, waiting for my turn on stage. Am I being pretentious? Is this entitlement? I don’t know, but I feel that there is so much inside... Continue Reading →
Danger and Serenity in a Frozen World: Thoughts from Linville Falls and Gorge
Walking alone through a silent, frozen forest only to emerge at the precipice of a frigid gorge with cascading waterfalls and biting winds is all at once unsettling and entrancing to my mind. I arrived to the trailhead of Linville Falls and Gorge just at sunrise. The uncleared snowy field that was the parking lot... Continue Reading →
Reflections on the Love of My Life This Holiday Season
Love is a Garden, And We Have the Exceptional Privilege of Being the Caretakers and Stewards of It. To My Love Bonnie, It was a somber, overcast sky in the early Seattle morning of April 10th, 2020. It was my birthday. I was 32 years old and driving back to my hometown of Chattanooga after... Continue Reading →
The Top of the Mountain, The Edge of the Sea, The Beauty Is Out There, For It Pours Out of Me
By humanity’s collective upward gaze, the top of a distant mountain takes on a mythical aura that is difficult to fathom. When we peer at a mountain’s peak from below, it breathes with the rule of an eternal force, unencumbered by the rhythm and flow of mortals. Its ascended stature emanates a holy presence and... Continue Reading →
A Brief Pause to Enjoy Spring
Like so many, it has been a strange time as we slowly emerge, hopefully, from the worst of the pandemic. It was a long, difficult, lonely winter that held an extra bitter bite this year and the emergence of Spring is ever welcome! Spring has given me a new found hope and optimism towards the... Continue Reading →
Feeling Uncomfortably Comfortable: A Reflection on The Comfort Zone
Six months ago, my anxiety was through the roof and I desperately sought therapy for help. It was the first time I tried face to face therapy and it was a plunge out of my comfort zone. Fast forward to this past month and I told my therapist that I think I am no longer... Continue Reading →
For Maw Maw…
My grandmother recently passed away surrounded by family after a long, hard battle with cancer. After her death, I felt compelled to write a eulogy and wanted to share that today: I could go on all day about the countless things that made Maw Maw special. Known for her big heart and her big personality,... Continue Reading →
Using the Struggles of the Past for Inspiration of the Future
There are days when I feel defeated, broken, and beaten down, but there’s one thing I can do that helps put everything into perspective. For me, I like to look back at my past struggles and where I came from in an effort to appreciate where I’m at in this current moment. How easily we... Continue Reading →
The San Juan Islands: Social Distancing At Its Best
Amid the chaos and uncertainty of the times with the Coronavirus pandemic underway, I felt a growing need to burst from my quarantined cocoon and socially distance in a responsible and fulfilling way. And thus, I set off for San Juan Island, located in the Northwest corner of the Lower 48 in Washington state. Just... Continue Reading →