The Other Side of Being a Mirror
In my last Writing I talked about how my presence can sometimes surface sore spots and buried tensions in others. That is one side of the mirror I hold.
The other: Ease. Flow. Being fully seen and completely accepted.
When people feel safe and seen they soften. They blossom. Walls come down. Minds spark. Hearts open. Creativity runs free.
I notice what is tense. I see what is hidden. And I know how to tend to it. I can read the room. I can feel when it is time to press forward. And I know when it is time to let the current take its own turn and carry us where it may.
When we work together, or walk closely in life, you might also find yourself feeling at ease. Alive. Relaxed.
That is no accident. Ease isn’t laziness- it’s alignment. Flow isn’t luck- it’s what happens when love and truth are both present.
I don’t just hold space for hard conversations. I hold space for moments when everything clicks. For when the right words arrive and the next steps feel obvious.
Both sides of the mirror matter. I am here for all of it.
The Gift of Being a Mirror: A Reflection on Triggers, Projection, and Growth
There’s a unique and sometimes uncomfortable gift I’ve carried with me for as long as I can remember.
I have a way of surfacing what’s hidden.
Of drawing out people’s sore spots, buried pain, and unresolved truths - sometimes without even trying.
For a long time, I didn’t know what to make of this. It felt like a burden more than a blessing. I’d watch people react to me with intensity - sometimes gratitude, other times defensiveness or blame. I would wonder, What did I do? Why does this keep happening?
But over time, I’ve come to see it differently. Maybe it stems from my early environment-growing up around the teachings of Anne Wilson Schaef, with weekly process groups unfolding in my home. Maybe it’s something innate.
Either way, I’ve stopped seeing it as a flaw.
And I’ve started owning it as a gift.
I Am a Mirror
To be in relationship with me, whether as a friend, colleague, client, or partner, means you may see parts of yourself reflected back that you weren’t expecting.
This is not about judgment or control.
It’s about presence.
And the presence I carry often reveals what has been avoided, numbed, or tucked away.
That’s why to work with me, or to walk closely beside me, requires a genuine commitment to your own personal growth. Not perfection. Not polished self-improvement. But a willingness to pause, reflect, and own what’s yours when it arises.
Because if you’re not ready to meet yourself with compassion and curiosity, it’s easy to project what you’re feeling onto me.
To turn your discomfort into blame.
To make me the problem, rather than exploring what’s being stirred in you.
I say this with love:
If you’re not ready to grow, I may not feel good to be around.
And that’s okay.
Your Reaction Won’t Derail Me
Whether you embrace me or reject me, whether you feel seen or challenged, your reaction will not define me.
I’ve done too much work, walked through too many fires, and reclaimed too many pieces of myself to be thrown off course by someone else’s resistance to their own inner truth.
We’re all on different timelines.
And I trust the process - mine and yours.
Walking Forward in Love and Integrity
This isn’t an invitation for people to stay comfortable.
It’s a call for truth, tenderness, and transformation.
It’s for the ones who are ready to rise.
To break old cycles.
To see discomfort not as something to avoid, but as a portal to deeper healing and wholeness.
If you’re ready to walk that path, whether through one-on-one coaching, group facilitation, or simply in shared conversation - I’m here.
Not to fix you.
Not to change you.
But to walk beside you as you remember who you are beneath the layers.
I don’t claim to have all the answers.
But I do offer love, clarity, and an unwavering belief in your capacity to grow.
And that, I believe, is enough.
Love Leads the Way: Reimagining Leadership for a Better World
What if love was the most powerful tool a leader could wield?
In this post, I explore the heart of my graduate research: how love can serve as a catalyst for meaningful organizational and social change. Drawing on my academic background in Organizational Leadership and Human Communication, as well as lived experience in nonprofit and community leadership, I offer a people-centered perspective on leading with intention, connection, and care.
This piece is both a personal reflection and a call to reimagine leadership not as a role of control, but as a practice of courageous service. For anyone yearning to lead with more clarity, compassion, and purpose - his is for you.
There is a quiet power in love that often goes unrecognized in leadership. For me, love has always been a central guiding principle, not as sentiment. It is an active force grounded in responsibility, connection, and care. My personal and professional journey has consistently brought me back to this truth: love is not just compatible with leadership - it’s essential to it.
From my early experiences in Native ceremonies and transformational workshops to managing a bike shop at sixteen and earning a scholarship to the Authentic Leadership Conference, my path has always been relational, intuitive, and purpose driven. These formative moments taught me that leadership isn’t about status, it’s about service, truth-telling, and creating space for growth.
Love, as a leadership principle, offers a framework rooted in empathy, humility, courage, and accountability. It’s not abstract. It’s how we show up: in conflict, in service, and in relationship. Love, when practiced intentionally, has the power to transform systems, not just individuals.
Yet in many organizational spaces, love is dismissed as too emotional or irrelevant. I disagree. Love is a practical force for building trust, motivating teams, and inspiring innovation. It invites us to lead with vulnerability, to embrace imperfection, and to foster inclusive environments where people feel safe, seen, and empowered; and can show up as their whole selves.
Through leading community programs, supporting youth, and serving on nonprofit boards, I’ve seen love build cultures of integrity, resilience, and possibility. Leadership grounded in love is not easy. It requires presence, courage, and risk. But it also brings clarity, transformation, and healing.
As I continue my research and consulting practice, I’m asking: What becomes possible when love is no longer hidden, but a central guiding principle to organizational life? What if we lead from wholeness instead of fear? What if love guided not only our intentions, but our systems?
We may not be able to measure love precisely, but we can feel its impact. Love is not a distraction from leadership: it is the compass. And in choosing to lead with love, we choose a path toward justice, connection, and collective flourishing.