When you are open to the exploration of your thoughts, allowing them to formulate without getting hung up on directing them, good things happen.

I've learned several things from my experiences dealing with depression a few years back. The direction I allowed my life to take afterward, which includes this migratory path of embracing a mobile, essential, and more deliberate way of life, has shown me that when you allow yourself to simply listen to thoughts and ideas that float through your mind, without judgment and without trying to direct them, you will uncover a truer self and discover what is meant for you.

I am certain that storytelling is one of the main ways we can change the world. — Tim Denning

This self discovery may come very slowly; it has for me. I'm continually drawn back toward the worn path. The well trekked path I've walked for more than 40 years is a path difficult to step off, though I no longer desire to walk it. A life of introversion, fear, comparison, and insecurity isn't easy to abandon despite knowing it is not necessary. The path I wish to travel requires equal parts openness and resolution: openness to whatever the path reveals while being steadfast to continue through the uncertainty.Remaining open allows me to see through the clutter of life and discern what is meant for me. When I stray I am reminded of the path I must travel. A discomfort comes over me, a slight nipping at my guts knowing, like a cattle dog at my heels. I am also presented with guidance. This week that affirming guidance was an article about storytelling.

Storytelling takes us out of our own head and takes us away from our own experiences so that we can see a different perspective. Sometimes all we need to hear is someone have the same battle as us and produce a different result. — Tim Denning

This article struck a chord as I wage an internal battle each time I write a post, or this newsletter. I fear my writing is narcissistic, and that this exercise is my own version of the personally despised selfie. It's a word selfie.

I share regardless because it's cathartic, and because I now believe that this isn't my story, but our story. I believe personal stories belong to the whole. Putting our individual stories out there is how we eventually become complete, healed, and discover that we're all essential pieces of one story.

I've always felt the desire to tell stories, since I was a young boy laying in bed telling tales of Snoopy to my younger brother, Chris. I shunned the story telling for decades because it seemed an irresponsible and impractical way to earn a living. Story telling always resurfaces because it is part of who I am, and part of who we are collectively. Today I feel it is my responsibility to share stories, and further, to build a platform for others to share their stories. I need to share stories to help those who read them make better decisions than perhaps I have made. I need to share stories to show others it's never too late to pivot in life. It's never too late to lace up a pair running shoes and explore the trails. It's never too late to change your nutritional habits. It's never too late to pursue passions and projects you've been thinking about since childhood.

We muster the courage to change when we feel a connection with another who has changed.

We want to learn from you and share with others.