After the loss of Pres, the baby grouse chick, I found myself questioning everything and replaying every "what if" imaginable. Then, just a week later, a tiny underweight baby red squirrel entered my life and quietly reminded me that hope has a way of returning when you least expect it.

In this episode, I reflect on the duality of wildlife care, the joy of helping animals heal, the heartbreak when they don't make it, and the unexpected lessons these little creatures continue to teach me about presence, compassion, and keeping an open heart.

There's a little bonus at the end as well.

A few days after reflecting on my first year of off-grid living, I found myself wondering what the second year would bring. Then a tiny grouse chick appeared on a dirt road and turned my world upside down.

In this episode I share the story of Pres, the lessons he brought with him, and how a baby bird became an unexpected reminder to slow down, set down the weight of tomorrow, and return to the present moment.

Chirp, chirp, chirp. Be here now.

A year ago I left Toronto with a vehicle full of belongings, a head full of uncertainty, and no real idea what was about to happen.

Since then, I've traded traffic for trees, nightlife for wildlife, and constant stimulation for something I didn't realize I was missing: space. Space to hear myself. Space to create. Space to heal. Space to become who I was always meant to be.

In this one-year reflection, I share what I've learned from living off-grid, the unexpected gifts that found me along the way, and why getting fired may have been one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Before you listen to this episode, I highly suggest you listen to the earlier episodes titled "Coming Back Alive" - all 3 parts.

This episode is more of a practical guide or at least gives you some practical tips that worked for me in making contact with wildlife.

In the last episode, I briefly covered a bit of surviving my first winter off-grid. In this episode, there's a little less of a philosophical feel as I get into the practical side of things. I get into the problems I ran into, how I dealt with them and what it was like getting through the winter for the first time living in a trailer that was built for the summer.

In this episode, I give an update on all of my current creative projects, the podcast, and then get into what it was like surviving the winter in a lakeside trailer for the first time.

This is not an anti-alcohol episode.
And it’s not a sobriety manifesto.

It’s an honesty episode.

I didn’t move off-grid to quit drinking. I didn’t make a vow. I didn’t hit a dramatic breaking point. Somewhere along the way, without force, without rules, alcohol just stopped being necessary.

In this episode, I talk about how drinking can start out as fun, connection, and relief… and how, over time, it can quietly become something that fills a hole you didn’t even realize was there. I explore how environment, nervous-system regulation, and real nourishment can change your relationship with alcohol without turning it into a battle of willpower.

I also share the mindset shift that finally worked for me:

“I’m not quitting alcohol forever. I’ve tried that and failed. I’m just quitting for now.”

This conversation isn’t about abstinence, morality, or telling anyone what to do. I understand why people drink. It makes sense in a life that’s loud, fast, and demanding. This episode is simply an invitation to notice what happens when your life starts feeding you in ways alcohol used to.

If alcohol still gives you something real, this episode isn’t asking you to take it away.
It’s just asking a quieter question:

What changes when you no longer need it?

This isn’t a conventional episode. It’s a statement.

A line in the sand for Season 2: Embodiment Over Performance.

No intro. No outro. No aesthetics.