March Member Spotlight: Kyle Joyner

Q&A with Helena Young Professionals Member: Kyle Joyner

What do you do for work and what do you do in your free time?

I am a clinical mental health therapist at the Center for Mental Health (which is a community mental health center). Wherein I conduct intake assessments, individual therapy and crisis sessions with a range of clients from diverse backgrounds. In my free time I enjoy hiking, evening walks, cooking, brewing mead and wine, spending time with friends, learning new things, reading, archery and cultivating balance. 

How did you land in Helena?

I had been seeking a change in my surroundings and was offered a job working at a clinical mental health therapist at the Center for Mental Health here in Helena.

What is the best piece of advice that you ever received – career-related or otherwise?

Cultivate and maintain good boundaries between your work life and personal life. Don't sacrifice your personal/leisure time to make up for the lack of hours in a given work day, leave at the intended end of your work day with the knowledge that whatever your job is, the tasks will keep until the hours that are designated for the next business day."

When do you feel the most yourself?

‘Tis a philosophical question in nature. & one that depends on given levels of attachment at any one point in time and how mindful I (as well as other) am in the moment to then know that I am most myself. Being and knowing can be very different but they can also align, yet it is not a given that they'll we will always know, for often we are busy being without knowing or knowing without being. The moments of pure consciousness that we have are often more fleeting than constant. Sometimes when I see a sunset and or how the colors of the fading light then cast the sky-scape in a manner that will only ever be seen but once in that exact way, I appreciate the beauty and oneness of recognizing the moment and knowing that I'm awed by it. As many such experiences of this have occurred when in nature and or observing the natural world, perhaps it is amid such environments. & yet there are other moments and places and experiences that have possibility of recognition as well: when I brew mead in all its simplistic complexity, when I cook, when I go on hikes, when I appreciate the company of others, when I meditate, notice the silence of a moment, when I laugh out loud from amusement, when I listen to those who have suffered share their stories and feel the oneness of being at the right place at the right time and being conscious of the experience. Such is true not only for me but for all, perhaps only but one breath or scene or sky-scape away, perhaps a lifetime, but the opportunity to become conscious of knowing yourself is always there to be found.

Where is the last place you explored and where do you want to explore next?

I had taken the Norris Trail in the Scratch Gravel Hills and would certainly do so again as it lends to some of the best views encompassing Helena, Mt. Helena, the Elkhorns and wide expanse to the Southern Big Belt Mountain Range. To that end, I would do more hiking in the Big Belt Mts' as I've not hiked there much.

What do you like most about Helena so far?

I greatly have enjoyed the rich volume of diverse hiking opportunities in the Helena area. While I am an avid hiker, there are still many more trails I've yet to travel and within 20 miles of Helena in addition to beyond. Which shall make the adventure ever more continuous.

What do you recommend someone new to town try out? Somewhere fun to visit and somewhere fun to get a bite to eat or a drink?

I would recommend having a glass of fine wine at the Hawthorn, which is a wonderful classy wine bar in the downtown area.

What do you like most about Helena Young Professionals?

I enjoy the fellowship and friendships that have come out of this group. While I'm partial to the hiking events, there are many and more that always lend to enjoyment.

Thanks for being a part of our Q&A Kyle!