Your AHA moment today brought to you by Neil Gaiman.
You were not meant to be anybody else. Be you. You were uniquely and wonderfully made. Live that way.
Walk in love, dear readers! Happy Friday!!!
Tag: Mind
Great Reads
So. You know how I shared with you my urge the other day?
Well, a friend of mine asked if I would be so kind as to share the reading list that Pat Parelli shared with me of influential books he has read that have helped him in various parts of his life.
Great idea, I know! Thanks, M!
Her wish is my command! I decided to share it here in case anyone else was curious about the reads on that list.
Please enjoy the following recommendations…with a few of my own additions.
~Books by Malcolm Gladwell
~Tribal Leadership By: Dave Logan
~Play to Win By: A. G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin
~The Revolution in Horsemanship By: Dr. Robert Milller
~Thinking in Pictures By: Temple Grandin
~Psycho Cybernetics By: Maxwell Maltz
~The Psychology of Winning By: Dr. Denis Waitley
~The Gifts Of Imperfection By: Dr. Rene Brown and any other books by Brown
~The Richest Man In Babylon By: Dr. George S. Clason
~Frogs into Princes By: Richard Bandler
~Using your Brain for a Change By: Richard Bandler
~Move Closer Stay Longer By: Dr. Stephanie Burns
~The Labyrinth Course- Dr. Stephanie Burns
Happy reading!
Do you have any great reads to recommend???
Walk in love, dear readers!
Thanks.
I awoke a full hour before my alarm was to go off at 6:30 AM. An extra hour of sleep would be nice before a long road trip.
But. Here I lay. Fully energized and rearing to go. Excited to get where we are going. However, I am forcing myself to stay in bed because that was the plan. No sense in getting everything finished early just to sit and wait again. Silly, right?
Anyway, here I am, writing to you since clearly the prospect of sleep is leaving as quick like as the sun is about to rise. And because Darcy dog is not here to cuddle. Which, is not so fun, not having my dog with me.
I played on my phone a bit when I first realized there would be no more sleep. Then I put it down and tried again. No luck. Picked it up again. I was reminded of a song. You know how that happens.
Here I am, laying in bed. Having the luxury of lounging in bed for an hour before I need to do anything. About to gather everything my horse and I need for a week, load it up, and head out with R for a week of riding and fellowship.
How did I get here? How am I able to do these things that I love? Have these horses that I have? How blessed am I?
I get to do all these things because my parents worked their tails off and did everything they could for us. Because they taught us to work our tails off. To do the right thing. To not give up on our dreams and wishes. To do what makes our hearts happy. To have faith and give thanks to the Man upstairs for it all who makes it all possible.
Even when we didn’t realize or appreciate it.
So.
I give thanks to the Lord. I give thanks to my parents and family. And I give thanks to my horse.
Corny as it may sound, it is all true.
Time to get up and get moving. R will soon be on her way!
Walk in love, dear readers! I will see you in a week!
Early Morning
Early morning is my time. For starters, I am physically incapable of sleeping in. That whole mental alarm clock thing. To actually sleep until 7AM without waking is a luxury I do not often experience.
Waking up early is easy for me, especially when I am at the farm or am somewhere where I am going to ride. And you all know how I feel about sunrises. Rousing myself for work? Not so easy. I am still awake, just can’t seem to make myself get out of bed.
I am sure I have told all of you this before, but when I do actually get out of bed at my usual early time, I never feel better. I get to have my time. Quiet reflection in a quiet world besides the percolation of the coffee pot, the clink of Darcy’s collar tags, and nature’s morning stirring noises.
The first thing I do is take my pup outside. We are generally always by ourselves. No lights are on in my neighbor’s windows. It feels almost as if we have the whole place to ourselves.
Back inside, Darcy gets a drink of water while I pour myself a mug full of coffee adorned with honey and milk.
That is my favorite mug. It has a gingerbread man on it. It’s comforting and happy. I like happy.
Then, I sit. Sometimes I watch the news. Well, more often not these days…too depressing and well I don’t know…sometimes I watch my latest Netflix obsession. Sometimes I read.
Today I was going to read, but then I decided, I should write to you! So, here I am. And there you are.
Now with R being evacuated from her home and living with me while it gets repaired (thanks Harv, for doing that to my friend), our mornings are a bit more exciting. Darcy loves having someone else in the house. When R starts to stir, she shoots up the stairs with the most energetic of good mornings. If only she could speak! That usually envokes a play session and then we are off to get ready for the day.
On this particular morning, work is on my mind. I typically am trying to think of anything but. However, my job is changing a little.
When I was first told, I freaked out a little. Hello, change. My mind went in a whirlwind with questions. What does it mean for me and my position in the company? Am I the right person? What does it mean for compensation? How fast will this happen? I don’t want my life to be that complicated! I have responsibilities here!
Simply and remarkably, Holy Spirit showed up in usual form. Still amazes me. Anyway, the question posed was this…why are you scared?…
I am scared? Am I? How did you know that? Fear of the unknown. Old friend. Not logical, rational, or from the Lord. AHAmoment.
The simple fact is, while I now have this new ‘role,’ it is early days. We are feeling it out. We will figure it out along the way. We. If at any time it is not right, that is OK. It has the potential to be big. I should be excited. I get to learn something new and meet new people. I am excited.
That is what is on my mind today.
Let’s go make it a great Thursday.
Walk in love, dear readers!
Whopper
Welp. I dare say that was (well, still is) a whopper. A doozy whopper of a hurricane. I just came up with that. Just roll with it.
(Disclaimer…blogging from your phone is difficult and annoying. Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors.)
Words really can not describe the magnitude of devastation. EVERYWHERE.
I had a friend ask me if I or my parents had ever seen anything like this. My response? My grandparents haven’t ever seen or heard of anything like this. And my family has been in this area for a long time.
It will take me a little while on this one to gather my thoughts and put them into words. To be honest, I am not even sure if I can. I will try though, not just for me, but for my people, my city, my region, my state. Please know that me and my animals and my people are all well. We are safe and on the right side of the worst of it. We have been blessed and I am more sure than ever that God provides. And He is here. Always. I so appreciate all of the comments and messages from you, my dear readers. It means the world to me.
I apologize for being MIA since my last post. That was not my intention, but in circumstances such as these, your prioraties change pretty quick.
I hope you are all well. I do not even remember the last time we spoke. That is how long this storm, horrible Harvey, has been going on.
There is much work to be done now, but until then, please enjoy our aftermath of the storm.
I needed that cocktail!
Because everyone loves Tuner kisses…
Looking forward to all the new growth.
Walk in love, dear readers.
Peace.
Your AHAmoment today brought to you by Marianne Williamson.
Walk in love, dear readers.
Tune Tuesday
Ezekiel’s Wheel.
Mike McClure is one of my favorites, so that is reason enough to share, yes? That and this song keeps coming up, probably for a reason.
“Everything that I have been through
stands here in my shoes.
Every knock down, drag out
Every broken bone and bruise.
Every time I bet it all
convinced I wouldn’t lose,
knee deep in the powder
trying to light my own fuse.
No there a’int nothing new
under the sun.
Ya, one story ends
and anther has begun.
Ezekiel’s Wheel
is still spinnin’ around.
All that we have lost,
some day will be found.
Everything I once thought
has flown out of my mind
and everything I outran
has now left me far behind.
Every road it just keeps rollin’
ya, they twist and turn and wind.
I don’t know if it’s an accident
or by some grand design.
But there a’int nothing new
under the sun.
Ya, one story ends
and anther has begun.
Ezekiel’s Wheel
is still spinnin’ around.
All that we have lost,
some day will be found.
Well the tides have all turned inward
and the rocks are washed with waves.
There is a broken bottle on the beach,
but the note has blown away.
It was prolly just a riddle
written down in rhyme.
A little more of the same old,
one more time.
No there a’int nothing new
under the sun.
One story ends
and anther has begun.
Ezekiel’s Wheel
is still spinnin’ around.
All that we have lost,
some day will be found.”
One thing I do know, nothing is accident. It is a grand, divine design. It will all come full circle in time.
I will admit, that this is a Bible story I did not know until I heard the song. Hearing the song intrigued me and I looked it up. Any of you know much about it? Do share! I would love to hear your thoughts. There are plenty of thoughts out there around this story.
Walk in love, dear readers!
Country Bound
As most of you know, I spend at least a few hours out in the country every weekend. There are many reasons for this, but it is mainly because, well, I need it. My soul needs it. It is where I feel most at home. Where I want to end up one day.
Thanks to Brent Cobb for posting this on his YouTube, for recording it, and to his Dad and Uncle for writing it.
This may be a dramatic statement to some, but this song is how I feel sometimes. Maybe more than just sometimes. Also, the whole John Denver combined with Robert Ellis vibe? Wow. I almost can not handle it.
It is necessary for me to unplug and get away. If I do not do this, I lose my sight and focus. I get anxious. What is it that they say? Lose the forest for the trees? Or the sun for the rays? I do not know why I am this way, I just am. Sometimes, I need it more than just once a week.
At the end of last week, I was struggling to get anything finished. You know when that happens? You have a lot to do and you find yourself just staring at it? Like hello, get going, move it! This happens to me more and more it seems. AHAmoment. This just occurred to me. I might start giving myself deadlines. Anyway, that is a story for another day. I was more than ready to get out of town and recharge.
The point is, when I do, I am able to see, hear, feel, and truly experience things like this. For what it is. In vivid detail. This is why I need it. My horses are also there. My family is often there. And there is that whole side benefit of, hey all I have to do is get through this week and I get to go to the farm! Oh, am I not supposed to admit that? Oh well. I want to eventually be able to have that every day.
I was walking back from the barn with Niece and Nephew after going to see the horses. I looked up and was amazed watching them walk through the grass off into the sunset. Completely in the moment. There is nothing better for them than this.
Sitting by the pong with my sister, her family, and some friends. Watching the sunset and the boys fish. Sunsets are so spiritual to me. Each moment both different and sacred.
I snapped these of my Bro in law. Fishing is his number one passion, like horses are for me.
A quick video of me riding the best baby horse of all time. Kids, do not video while you ride. Right after this, I dropped my phone. It still works though!
Cuddle time with my main mare.
For all you people with the Monday feels…this is truth. I found this on a friend’s Facebook page. Truth it may be, it can still be hard!
Great family dinner last night that was good for the soul.
Walk in love, dear readers. Go kick butt today!
Happiness
You can not chase happiness, you have to find it where you are.
That is easy enough to say. Harder to believe it all the way through. Harder still to put in practice and do.
It is a choice. AHAmoment. We all have a choice in everything.
A choice to cut out all the negative and embrace all that you have.
Live full and whole hearted. Be compassionate. Have empathy. Be vulnerable. Cultivate gratitude and joy. Love your whole self, your authentic self, but love the Lord first.
The rest? The rest will come. In its own time. It is different for every person.
It seems hard, but it is for everyone. I will be honest, it is hard for me.
Be brave.
Walk in love, dear readers, and do not lose heart.
A Better View & A Better Mood
Monday after work I snuck (sorry, I really just prefer it to sneaked, get over it) out to the farm to lock the horses into the paddock for the farrier who came out the Tuesday morning.
I arrived and got everything finished with enough time…and daylight…to fit a ride in on Cheetah. We have now redeemed ourselves from Saturday’s ride, and thank God, literally. AHAmoment. I did thank Him, for the ride and more. I have been pretty aggravated ever since Saturday, let us be honest.
It was a great ride and I feel better for it. I truly believe she does too. We just rode. That is all. Just for the fun and love of it. No agenda. No plans. No expectations. No pressure. Took what we had. Just rode for the shear joy. What IT is all about. AHAmoment, again! Those are our best rides. You can still make progress and work towards goals. Funny how that happens.
I snagged these quick videos for those of you who want or need a different view for a few seconds. If you are like my Niece, I welcome you to pretend you are riding. I will not tell anyone. Please notice the sun in that first one! I have decided I am not complaining about clouds anymore (sorry about Monday!). Do you know how many times in the Bible clouds represent God? A lot. Think about that. Do you want me to say it again??? AHAmoment! Also, clouds make the sun more brilliant when it shines through. So there.
What do you do just for the shear joy of it? Go do it.
Walk in love, dear readers!
Make it a wonderful Wednesday!