Lookie who just joined us. Welcome, @Julie McKenzie Hop on over to the classroom and check out the pivot promotion slip and then introduce yourself to the community and share the permission slip with us.

My good friend Rasheed has asked me to introduce myself... So here it is... I’m a writer, coach, hiker, empath, and mental health advocate... though, like most people, I’m also a whole lot more complicated than any neat little title can probably fully explain. Writing has been one of the ways I’ve learned to understand myself, heal myself, and make sense of the world around me. Coaching has become one of the ways I try to help others do the same. I care deeply about meaning, purpose, resilience, and the courage it takes to keep going when maybe life doesn't look the way we thought it would... Or should... Most of my writing is nature or self-development based. My 10th, 11th, and 12th books should be out be years end. The outdoors has been one of my greatest teachers. Hiking has taught me patience, humility, endurance, and the simple truth that most mountains are climbed one step at a time. That lesson has carried me through more than just trails. It's carried me through anxiety, depression, uncertainty, reinvention, and seasons of life where I had to learn how to begin again... And again... And again... I believe strongly in speaking openly about mental health. Because most times, silence has never healed anyone. I know what it feels like to struggle behind a smile, to feel overwhelmed by life, and to wonder if anyone else understands. That's part of why I try to be honest, encouraging, and real in the spaces I enter. As an empath, I feel things deeply. Sometimes that has been a gift. Sometimes, honestly, it has felt like carrying a backpack full of bricks up an already steep trail. But I’ve learned that sensitivity is not weakness. It can be wisdom, compassion, intuition, and strength — as long as we learn to protect our peace along the way. At this stage of my life, I’m trying to live with more purpose, more courage, more honesty, and more alignment. I’m here to connect with people who care about growth, healing, creativity, nature, and becoming more fully themselves.

So this essay/post is being written to introduce myself and in response to a request by @Rasheed Hooda, who asked that we share about living life on our own terms and about what our inner weirdo is. So first, for those of you who don’t know me, let me introduce myself. My name is George Benson. I am the youngest of nine kids, and I have been married to my wife, Jodell, since 1994. Together, we have been blessed to raise our two daughters, Antonia, who is a ministry intern, and Julia, who is a firefighter/paramedic. EMBRACING MY INNER WEIRDO Recently, after reading various posts by @Rasheed Hooda and @Matt Landry, I was struck by something Matt said that I had never heard someone say before. He said he was an empath. A word I have lived since I was six, and a word I had never heard another human use to describe themselves in over 50 years, except in books that I have read from authors writing about that specific topic. So what is an empath? An empath is someone who not only notices the emotions of others, but can often feel them deeply, as if they are their own. In fact, many empaths struggle with learning to distinguish what they are feeling and where it is coming from. For some empaths, they are very intuitive and are often very good at reading other people’s emotions and the micro-expressions that are presented by others through various physical characteristics, movements, or other body language. For other empaths, they pick up on the tone of a person’s voice, the specific words they use or don’t use, and the aura, sensations, or energy that is emanating from a person’s body. For some of you, you might not have heard of the word empath, but you might know people who you think are overly sensitive. In clinical terms, psychologists, counselors, or clinicians might refer to them as being an HSP, or a Highly Sensitive Person. For me, although we did not have the words to describe it at the time, I was raised to embrace being an empath, and I grew to develop a strong intuition and at times to experience things that, to this day, I have no words to explain. For those who are interested, I have written a book that I give away for free called Dancing Through the Storms of Life. In that book, I write in the third person about my life and the events that have shaped who I am today. So if you’re interested in learning more about my inner weirdo, feel free to click the link.

Well… I think in order to get to know how weird I am, there’s a lot of nuance. And it’s not necessarily weird, it’s just swimming against the stream, being unique and wacky. I love to embrace individuality and I approach life and business in my own way, following my inner compass The guide me towards helping people support supporting and cheering people on. I put ketchup on grilled cheese sandwiches. I used to wear my nightgowns inside out because when I took them off they’d be right side out. I teach my kids to be respectful and take responsibility - but honestly I also taught them to swear! I jump without looking, I cheer people on who others overlook, I get excited, I mean REALLY excited, about trivial things. I am authentically me, and I love that I can be weird me in this space! I had a point with this post and I don’t know where it went… So here I am!

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