CURRENT MISSION

Every day: laugh, connect, learn, contribute, do good.

ABOUT ME

Um, I'm pretty down to earth. I'm a bike geek. I also teach yoga and meditation (sometimes for free to prison inmates). I love spontaneity but I am also good at planning and getting stuff done. I work in the environmental education field. I think laughing is one of the healthiest things one can possibly do.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't sweat the small stuff; It's mostly small stuff. I believe that suffering leads to an understanding of the suffering of others, which leads to compassion, which leads to connection, which leads to more understanding, which is the opposite of ignorance. It's ok to be confused and to grapple with apparent paradoxes. Asking humble questions is a great way to connect with others. I like to laugh and play outside.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've house sat and farm sat for friends. When I lived in Vancouver, I offered my couch to a few of the Superheroes (a movement of about 500 volunteers who ride bikes for a month at a time doing spontaneous acts of kindness). I also slept on couches and in back yards as a Superhero in BC and Ireland.

Interests

wilderness, guitar, peacemaking, longboarding, capoiera, yoga, mountain/road cycling, hiking, rock climbing, playfighting, birds, indicator species, tree climbing, snowboarding, camping, writing, cooking, baking bread, wearing snow pants and mittens, knitting, singing, traveling, adventures, spontaneity, politics, sky diving, surfing, storytelling

• birds
• writing
• singing
• education
• cooking
• baking
• yoga
• meditation
• politics
• traveling
• knitting
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Joana Macy's "The Work that Reconnects", anything by David Sedaris, Richard Louv's "Last Child in the Woods", anything by Thomas King, "1001 Arabian Nights", anything by Rauld Dhal (especially "The Twits" and "The BFG"), Karsten and Lean's "Being Caribou", Bill Reid's "The Raven Steals the Light"

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Can you imagine 50 Superheroes on bikes, wearing masks, cleaning up post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans?

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States