Hello old friend, previously when you came knocking, I shut the door in your face. I now acknowledge your presence and tell you it's okay to stay awhile. The day is dawning. I'm barely awake, and I become aware of a pain in my chest. I turn inward, take a deep breath, and say to it, I know what you are; you are fear. I won't push you away, ignore you, or talk myself out of feeling the sensations you bring to my body. Instead, I will welcome you and search for the guidance you

There is only one thing we can control, our mind. Years ago, I read a book titled How We Choose To Be Happy. The book helped me reframe my opinion of my life and its past events. It helped me think "better" and check the negative chatter in my mind. I now see events as essential to making me who I am, and I don't consider the unfortunate, traumatic events in my life as "bad." I view them as necessary. I needed to go through those things, learn the lessons, grow, be healthier,

Rudy has helped me beat to my own drum. Over the six years I've owned him and four barns we've been at, there have been numerous opportunities to be influenced by well-meaning trainers, fellow boarders, or barn staff instead of listening to my intuition. There were plenty of times when I defaulted to others' advice despite it going against what I innately thought was correct because the person had more experience than I did. Six years in, I'm still a newbie to this whole hors

When I think back seven years, my life as it is now is unimaginable. I would never have thought I'd be spending hours at the barn with my horse, much less be the author of a children's book series. Talk about a dream come true! Sometimes I still have to pinch myself to believe that this is my life. The gift of Rudy keeps giving to me in unexpected ways. Writing a book was on my bucket list for years. I can tell you that writing a children's book was not on my radar. Yet, here

The first two blogs on fear came effortlessly, but this one did not, hence the delay in writing it. I've been thinking about my experiences with fear and how to "wrap" up my thoughts on this complex emotion. I've concluded that there isn't a way to "wrap" this topic in a neat package. The feeling of fear will rise and ebb based on things I experience and my thoughts about those happenings. It's up to me to acknowledge the emotion, allow it space, and recognize when I'm contri

I believe that no one wants to be a fearful person. I also think that people are often blind to many of their fears and don't realize the degree to which they control the direction, flow, abundance, love, and success in their lives. I've never considered myself to be a fearful person. I've always been somewhat of a risk-taker, naturally drawn to the thrill and adrenaline rush from speed and pushing my limits. For example, I love downhill skiing through trees—the joy of the sp

Some people face a lot of loss in the form of death in their life while others face comparatively little. I fall in the latter camp. As the decades pass, it has not gone unnoticed that I'm fortunate in this regard. I've lost my great grandparents, my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and a first cousin who was only 18 years old when he passed away. He suffered from cystic fibrosis his entire life. Still, he lived a vibrant life thanks to my incredible aunt and uncle, who