Every journey needs a guide, or in the words of Ram Dass,

“We’re all just walking each other home.”

In the wake of this pain, I turned towards the largest body I could find to hold me: the Earth. The natural world gave me permission me to slow down and soften. It gave me a place to tend to my wounds and put down all of my life’s shoulds: who I should be, how I should feel, what I should be doing. In doing so, I was able to create more space inside myself within which I could truly listen.

In 2022, following my heart’s call, I spent two months alone in the Costa Rican jungle. This time was ripe with both inner and outer exploration. For the first time in my life, as I swam in the Caribbean Sea where my ancestors once swam, I felt that I belonged. A reservoir of ancient sadness emerged alongside my new sense of belonging. I grieved deeply for my past, my younger selves, and for all of the ways I had been hurt, neglected, or abandoned- especially by myself. In a ceremony on the beach, I made myself a promise: I may get lost, but I’ll always come back. I’ll always come home. I’ll always do my best to be here.

Through my evolving relationship with myself and Mother Nature, I have come to realize that, just like the ants and the jungle and the rain, I have an important gift to offer. This offering- to lovingly guide others back into their own inner wild- is borne of my transmuted pain. It’s also borne of my unwavering hope in humanity.

I’ve always been insatiably curious about what it means to be human. As a little kid with big feelings, I often wondered (and pestered the adults in my life) with existential questions: Why are we here? Why are some people so sad? Why does everything change? What’s it all about?

My path into the wild began with these questions and the longings of my youth.. Feelings I can now identify as grief, anger, a sense of injustice, and a desperation for love. Because I did not have the benefit of adults in my life who could support me in processing these experiences, I learned to repress them. I spent many years feeling dissociated from my body and inner knowing, only bumping up against my tumultuous inner world when it expressed itself through unhealthy relationships, negative self- esteem, acute anxiety, and an unshakeable sense of fear.

In 2019 I began working with a somatic therapist. I also began graduate school. These experiences were harrowing initiations that brought me deep into my body and face to face with all of my untended pain.

My work is an embodiment of my reverence for this planet and all who wander through its great mysteries. I am deeply inspired by all those who have walked this path before me, and I am indebted to the wisdom they’ve passed on along the way. I humbly offer my presence, my work, and my heart as a gift in service of radical sovereignty and collective liberation. May this offering serve to benefit all beings, without exception.