Welcome to Within the Wave

Truly, within the wave means so many different things to me. Waves are a symbol for which my love has grown over time. In college, I spent a semester abroad living in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in a flat across from the Indian Ocean. I fell in love with those waves, the sound of them, the look of them, the feel of them lapping against my ankles. That Spring, a friend and classmate of mine told me that when she looked at the ocean she thought "strength and patience". As such, whenever she was needing those things, she looked to the water. Within the wave we find strength and patience... and so many other things. 

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A few years later, amidst my meaningful, challenging, and growth-inducing year-long residency as a chaplain, a supervisor shared a quote by Eric Butterworth. It reads, in part: “Remember, God is in you as the ocean is in the wave”. This brief statement summarizes both my core theology and my understanding of human nature. God is within us.. within each one of us.. and we cannot be separated from the divinity that we are. No matter what. No exceptions. The wave, hence, became my symbol for both the divine within us and the divine around and beyond us. 

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In 2013, I began working at an outpatient mental health clinic as a Chaplain and a Health Educator. Since that time, I have taught countless people, adults and adolescents, about riding the wave of emotion. This entails showing up to and allowing ourselves to fully experience the totality of our existence as humans, both the pleasant and the unpleasant. Emotions.. experiences... life itself.. exist within the wave.  We are called then not to avoid or block but rather to partner with this wave. As the waves move in and as the waves move out, we breathe and open ourselves to the process. 

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Whether you're just taking a quick perusal of my website or you decide to partner with me for some deeper exploration, I wish you deep peace and blessing both within and beyond you. 

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