Slow down and go within
Divine Intervention
During some of my darkest days, I learned that help comes in different forms. Sometimes it was through the warm smile of a stranger, and other days it was through a check-in from a good friend. While working as a seasonal laborer with the City of Saskatoon, I was...
You Are Worthy
I have been fortunate to have free airport lounge access for years, and yet never before have I walked through the doors. Why? I have struggled with feeling valued and worthy my entire life. My mind said that this privilege was for the ‘important’ people. (Even as I...
Project Semicolon
In 2013, Amy Bleuel went to social media and asked anyone who had struggled with a mental illness to draw a semicolon on their wrist and post a photo. A semicolon symbolized that a sentence wasn’t over yet, and neither was their life. Just like that, Project Semicolon...
Listen Don’t Fix
Anytime that I speak at an event in Winnipeg, I try to connect with my Uncle Ray. When he first found out that I was struggling with mental illness, he was upset that he had not known sooner. He believed that these were the very issues that a family needed to discuss...
Mental Health and Connection
With a six-hour layover in Halifax, I walked into Customs this morning hoping that they could squeeze me in for my Nexus interview. I approached the counter stating my intention, and a man asked me what I did for work. After telling him that I was a speaker on topics...
A Full Circle Moment
Every single person has a few painful chapters from their past. What are the odds that my hotel balcony faces my old apartment that contains one of my darkest chapters? After spending the past 16 years on a healing journey, it was time to return. Out front, I saw the...
Soaring Like An Eagle
Almost five years ago to the day, I was scheduled to speak at an event in Northern Saskatchewan. That morning, I went for a walk and felt an undeniable feeling. Out of nowhere, it became clear that I was supposed to leave Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies...
Finding My Voice
One of the most common questions I am asked is about the tattoo on my throat. When we lost my best friend, Justin Andres, to suicide, he left me a note. I traced over his initials, surrounded them with the phoenix, and met with a tattoo artist. You see, Justin...
Kindness Matters
As I was getting settled into my seat I began reflecting on some wise words I once heard. On every flight there is a good chance that someone is on their way to a funeral or perhaps saying goodbye to a loved one. You never know what people are going through, and for...
The Sun Will Rise
The sunrise has always played a pivotal role in my life. On too many nights, I wondered whether or not I would make it to the morning. I used to always say, "One day I am not going to have to fight so hard." Today, I stopped, and took the time to recognize that my...
“What’s stronger than a broken man who has the courage to rebuild himself? It’s time to redefine what it means to be strong.”
– Allan Kehler
