08/24/2026
I came home from Alaska feeling incredibly grateful.
I had the opportunity to see some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever experienced. Mountains that seemed to go on forever, beautiful waters, whales, wildlife and so many moments when I simply stopped and thought, How fortunate am I to be here seeing this?
But somewhere along the way, Alaska also had me thinking about home, my work, and even the journey that led me to write A Gift in the Wreckage.
Years ago, my near-death experience changed the way I looked at life. It taught me that there is so much more to our existence than the things that consume our everyday attention. Writing my book gave me the opportunity to look back at some of the hardest parts of my life and recognize the gifts, lessons and grace that were woven through them.
Standing in Alaska, surrounded by something so vast and beautiful, brought some of those feelings back to me.
There is something about nature that quiets the noise. It reminds us how small some of the things we worry about really are. It brings us into the present and asks nothing of us except to notice.
And I realized that this is so much of why I do the work I do at Riverview.
Of course, the Nonquon River isn't Alaska. 😊 But I see that same shift happen when someone gets into a kayak and slowly makes their way down the river, watching a heron lift from the shoreline or spotting a turtle or beaver. I see it when someone lies down for Reiki or a wellness treatment and, perhaps for the first time in a long while, allows themselves to stop, become still and receive.
Maybe wellness isn't always something we have to chase.
Sometimes it is found in stillness.
In nature.
In gratitude.
In wonder.
In feeling connected to something much bigger than ourselves.
Alaska reminded me how fortunate I am to have experienced so much beauty in this lifetime. But it also reminded me that we don't always have to travel thousands of kilometres to reconnect with what matters.
