There’s a paradox at the heart of being human: we drink deeply from life, seeking to satisfy our deepest thirsts, only to find ourselves wanting more. We chase success, relationships, achievements, experiences—gulping down saltwater that promises to quench us but leaves us parched. The more we consume, the thirstier we become.

This is saltwater.

But there’s another way. A process of transformation. A distillation still takes that same saltwater—the very thing that intensifies our thirst—and through patience, heat, and stillness, separates the pure from the bitter. What emerges is something that can actually sustain us. Something that truly nourishes.

This is the still.

Welcome to saltwater | still, a space dedicated to that alchemy. Here, we’re not pretending the saltwater doesn’t exist—the anxiety, the restlessness, the endless wanting, the ways we’ve learned to cope that don’t actually heal. We’re also not rushing past it to some artificial peace. Instead, we’re exploring the transformation itself. How do we take what makes us thirsty and distill it into what makes us whole?

This is where mental wellness and spirituality converge. Mental wellness teaches us to recognise the saltwater for what it is—to see our patterns, understand our pain, develop healthier ways of being. Spirituality offers us the still—the practices, the stillness, the sacred slowness that allows transformation to happen. Together, they’re the process that turns our suffering into wisdom, our thirst into sustenance.

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” —Rumi

Mental wellness isn’t just about managing symptoms or optimizing productivity. It’s about learning to be with ourselves—all of ourselves—with compassion and curiosity. And spirituality isn’t about escaping reality or bypassing our pain. It’s about finding meaning within it, discovering the sacred in the ordinary, and remembering that we’re part of something larger than our individual struggles.

Sometimes that looks like therapy and meditation. Sometimes it’s journaling and prayer. Sometimes it’s crying in the shower and then watching the sunset. Sometimes it’s all of these things at once, messy and beautiful and real.

This blog is for the seekers and the skeptics, the anxious and the awakening, those who are tired of choosing between scientific truth and spiritual wisdom. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they’re standing at the edge of two worlds, wondering if there’s a way to honor both.

I don’t have all the answers. I’m not a guru or a therapist or a saint. I’m just someone who’s been swimming in both saltwater and stillness, who’s learned that the healing journey is rarely linear, and that sometimes the most profound growth happens in the liminal spaces—the thresholds.

So here’s what you can expect: honest conversations about mental health. Explorations of spiritual practices from various traditions. Reflections on the intersection of psychology and philosophy. Tools and techniques that actually help. Stories—mine and others’—of transformation, struggle, and grace.

Most importantly, you can expect this to be a judgment-free zone. Whether you’re in therapy or meditation practice, on medication or on a mountaintop, deconstructing your faith or reconstructing it, you belong here. There’s room for all of it. There’s room for all of you.

The saltwater doesn’t stop coming. The world will keep offering us things that make us thirstier—comparison, consumption, busyness, distraction. But we can learn to recognize it. We can pause. We can return to the still, again and again, and trust the slow work of transformation.

That’s the invitation here. To name the saltwater. To cultivate the stillness. To discover what emerges when we stop rushing and start distilling.