My Online Journal: Empowered Path— An Outlier’s Wellness Chronicles

Hello, and welcome to my online journal.  I’ve taken a stab at naming it, and I’ve settled on “Empowered Path— An Outlier’s Wellness Chronicles”.  Empowered is very much how I feel when it comes to making decisions regarding my health.  An outlier?  Oh, most certainly.   

It is here where I’ll share my personal health stories, accounts from my life, as well as lived-experiences with you.  Social media has proven to be difficult when it comes to sharing longer form content, and really, I do not feel as if I am ever able to dive deep enough there.  I generally field inquires on social media regarding questions about personal health tidbits that I do decide to publicly share, choices that I’m making for myself regarding specific herbal remedies, or my various approaches to health and wellness.  I feel that this longer form, journal-style will provide more in-depth, cohesive story medicine.

My hope is that these shares will also allow me to be of service in a new and more effective way— especially for those who’d rather abstain from social media usage altogether.

My most recent experiences have included navigating “peri-menopausal symptoms”, choosing strength training and fitness as an avenue for both massive physical and spiritual growth, understand and utilizing the metabolic state of ketosis, sunlight, seasonal eating, mountain gardening woes, my relationship with Jesus, deepening the connection between myself and my husband, relinquishing control and allowing him to lead, grieving not becoming a mother, purging my unnecessary belongings, deepening my herbalism practice and more intensely studying the local mountain plants that I am surrounded by, caring for my intact male German Shepherd naturally, intentionally creating space in my life in various ways…..  You know.  The usual things.

This journal may interest those of you who have suggested that I “write a book” or have shared that you’ve enjoyed my writing.  Many people ask me detailed questions about my experiences, about specific plants, which herbs to look to in certain situations, etc. 

I’d much prefer to have the space to express about these experiences (be they physical, mental, or spiritual).

I can only gauge my assumptions about how others deal with health issues and beyond by what is observable to me both societally and well as relationally.  What has become abundantly clear is that I am an outlier.  I’m not one to do what’s trendy, fashionable, easy, faster, or as I’m told.  What makes my specific approach to my “problems” (which are quite truthfully opportunities for expansion) different from others that I have witnessed is that I lean on the side of observation, contemplation, prayer, acceptance, and utilize lifestyle changes as my primary modalities of healing.  I  “do nothing” over “doing too much” or outsourcing.  This approach has allowed me to bypass pervasive health-related neurosis, saved me time and money, and provided a real, felt sense of bodily autonomy and sovereignty throughout my entire adult life.

If there is something going on with me, I usually pray about it first.  I listen, tune in and ask questions.  “How am I being asked to pivot in regards to my lifestyle to allow for deeper transformation?”  In essence: “What can I MYSELF do in the physical realm, and what must I release into the spiritual hands of God?”  I have absolutely zero desire to willingly submit myself or my “issues” or “problems” to the worldly system that is “modern healthcare” or the allopathic model. 
I have deeply regretted the few times that I did choose to rely on others deemed “more qualified” than myself via “outsourcing” my “issues” to “professionals”. 

Do I really care if others do?  Ultimately I respect and understand that the Earth is full of people making all kinds of decisions.  The only person that I can be responsible for is myself. 

I am GRATEFUL to have a mind that allows space for personal contemplation and reflection, and I thank GOD for granting me patience, wisdom, and grace— beyond the steady consult that He provides to me when it comes to my flesh, my mind, and my spirit (which I feel are innately connected).

So, this journal offering is a living body of work.  Who knows what the next season will bring.  My offering is for peers, customers, or anyone with a desire to learn by witnessing my approach to life and health through story, trial, land-to-hand herbalism, and spirituality.
Rather than writing a book, there is a paywall and a nominal monthly subscription fee to access my writing— similar to Substack and other publishing platforms specific to writers.

If you’d like to join me, please do!  My first few contributions to this journal will be available for FREE to all so that folks are able to get a feel for the way that I share and my style of writing.  I am likely not everyone’s cup of tea!

I know that many of you are interested in herbalism.  I practice at home self-care, so undoubtedly I will be sharing how I handle situations with herbalism as a primary tool in my toolbox.  If I am working with herbs, I’ll explain how and why.  If I am going through something physically or emotionally, I’ll share how I’m personally dealing with it.

Hopefully my stories will be something special for others who wish to learn from my lived experience.  One of my latest adventures has been learning how to navigate what I would classify as “metabolic dysfunction” and the very normal hormonal changes that occur with aging naturally.  I observed myself heading down a particular road and decided to radically RECLAIM my story and my body. 

I think that menopause is an incredibly transformative and sacred process.  As is the case with other transformative rites of passage (birth, puberty, motherhood, marriage, aging, and death to name a few), the ways in which we’ve given permission for outsiders to inhabit, thwart, or participate in our rites of passage has bastardized many our lived experiences.  I feel that this bastardization has been intentional and it is this dynamic that lies at the crux of the very nature of good and evil, and the is a prime example of spiritual warfare.  It is my belief and opinion that the loss of our physical and spiritual autonomy, sense of purpose, and recognition of our blessed nature is not accidental.
This past summer of 2025, I very intentionally allowed my garden to rest following my herb harvest.  I also took a “silent and soft” break from sharing much on social media and poured into focusing on my body composition and working on building and maintaining muscle.  I had made up my mind that my husband and I were likely moving from our peaceful off grid meadow home in the wilderness, and then had some pretty profound spiritual revelations— which led me to choosing to take an entirely different approach (more on that later). 

For now, I’ll leave this here.  This space is mine, well, I guess it’s OURS, and that feels really good.  Please join me if you’d like to witness me and my journey.  I truly feel that this is the most effective way that I can be of service to others.  To share myself more adequately— to have a place to hold my words, my thoughts, my experiences, and ultimately a piece of my life’s story.  Thank you.

Oh, and one more thing:  I’ll never use AI to write here.  Never.  I think it’s a step backward for creatives and ultimately all of humanity to outsource our minds and modes of expression to some digital entity that can supposedly improve upon what we have accomplished.  I am not perfect nor do I WISH to be perfect.  I am not a master of the English language.  There may be typos or grammatical errors on occasion or even often.  I am HUMAN.  I think that it’s gross that I even need to declare this, but if you are reading MY entries here, just know that I expressed them from my sometimes irrational, sometimes silly, many times imperfect human flesh.