My newsletter, Relaxed and Alert, is my attempt to make sense of myself and the world by sharing my reflections on psychotherapy, meditation, and the outdoors.

Psychotherapy because I’ve always been interested in understanding why people are they way they are. I’m currently back in school to get a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with the goal to become a therapist. Before I started down this path, I worked as an organizational development consultant for large, global organizations trying to solve large, complex problems. So, I’ve been trained to notice how individuals behave within systems. And people continually surprise and fascinate me.

Meditation because I’ve noticed how my thoughts can take me to dark and unhelpful places. And our thoughts shape how we navigate and understand the world. Meditation has helped me see that my thoughts are just thoughts - nothing more, nothing less - and this gives me more empathy and understanding towards myself and others. It has helped me push through hard mountain bike trails where I was constantly falling and not keeping up with my friends, it has helped me see where my stories about myself where harming me instead of helping. It has helped me give myself some grace and float a bit lighter through life.

The outdoors because nature is powerful. It makes us take risks, it gets us out our comfort zones, it can be dangerous. It is also where I feel most alive. The best conversations I’ve ever had are outdoors. My best thinking is outdoors. My best friends are my friends because we do crazy things outside. I also work as a guide on outdoor adventures - facilitating conversations about how we show up with others while also backpacking and kayaking through the mountains.

I make sense of the world and myself by writing and sharing. If you’d like to come along with me, I’d love if you subscribed.