Isn’t that what they say about finding or selling a home? It’s all about a good location and where you are, right? Where are you?
Well, I learned something new from my horses and thought I would pass on their wisdom in today’s blog. My boys are always teaching me or reminding me of things.
Things here at the ranch have been extremely busy as well as at home. I’m still driving my friend around who is now going to vision and neurofeedback therapies to try to help with his brain injury. He still can’t drive and is having trouble with his memory and his visual and auditory cognition. The good news is that he has and is improving.
The one thing he is learning the hard way is how to relax as he is a type “A” personality. It is very difficult for him. The second thing that may be even harder to learn is that he can only do one thing at a time now, instead of 10 things at once like he used to.
With me running around like a crazy person doing this, doing that, and going a mile a minute…my stress level is going through the roof. I’m trying to get everything done at once and taking on more than I should. I know this but I still think, and say to myself, “I can do this”.
I’m sure you all can relate as we sometimes tend to push ourselves, want to do it all, and help everyone we can. And therefore, doing too much. And that’s when we need a friend the most.
The friend that I’ve been driving around told me that I was way too stressed out and I needed to try to do only ONE thing at a time as learning this has helped him. Because of his brain injury he has had to focus on one thing at a time. And even though he hates that he can’t multitask right now, focusing on one thing at a time has really helped him calm down when he gets frustrated with his healing.
Then he said,
“You need to go out and meditate with your horses and take a break!”
Wow, I had gotten so caught up in the everyday issues and “stuff” that I forgot to relax. So, I listened to my friend and went right out to my boys. Here, I am telling him to focus only on getting better and nothing else, but I’m running around like a crazy person. I should have listened to my own advice.
When I got into the pasture with the horses, I started doing more stuff. I was so wound up, I didn’t realize I couldn’t sit still. But my boys Jazz and Apollo knew better and knew what I needed. They started herding me, trying to get me to stop moving so much. It took a few minutes before I realized what they were doing as they teamed up together to get me to stop and calm down.
Jazz would touch his nose to my arms and play with my coat. So, when I was cleaning and picking things up he kept touching me to stop me from moving. When I turned around to go farther into the pasture away from Jazz’s stopping me, Apollo would run and get in front of me and stop. He stood sideways in front of me asking for scratches and making sure I couldn’t keep moving out into the large pasture down the hill. He even pressed his nose into my chest at one point and pushed a bit telling me to go back. When I started back up towards the barn they both happily hopped and ran, then looked back at me and waited for me to catch up.
When I got back to the barn, I sat down on the tack box in the pasture and they came up close and boxed me in. So, I had no choice but to sit still. Amazing how they knew I needed to rest. They could feel the stress radiating from me and the buzzing energy flow that was very high surrounding me. Both Apollo and Jazz put their bodies close to me, one on either side of me with their heads down. Jazz’s head was in my lap and Apollo put his head against my back. They were very gentle and loving.
I realized that before I sat down I was feeling frazzled. I hadn’t been upset or frustrated, just busy and hectic. But then looking back at it I also wasn’t happy or sad either. Not really having any emotions, just thinking a lot and feeling busy…if that makes any sense.
Once, I sat still for a few minutes, maybe longer, I noticed that the horses’ breathing was in sync. Which then started me breathing in rhythm with them. Before long I was calm and relaxed and focused only on my boys. I stayed there for at least 2 hours and enjoyed every second of it.
My boys taught me to stop, slow down, and focus.
Focus, Focus, Focus!
The amazing thing was that while I was focused solely on my horses, my brain slowed down and started to live in the “here and now”. I started feeling grateful for things again, having emotions again. Joy started to crop back into my day and I couldn’t help but smile, inside and out. Just one little thing, focusing on one little thing at a time, opened up my whole day and I could now see the big picture. I guess you could say that I had got “caught in the weeds” and now I could see what I needed to do next.
It was such a great feeling to feel relaxed and happy again. Even if it was only for those few hours with the horses, it helped the rest of my day immensely. When I got home I started working again and was reading and responding to emails. A blog reader named Carmalle wrote in responding to one of my blogs and said this,
“I was in a bad wreck with a drunk driver and learned to walk again 7 years later when everyone had given up hope I’d ever improve, thanks to God and therapeutic riding. My philosophy is you can choose to live in the “what if” or the “what is” when your life doesn’t go like you planned. I don’t see much benefit of living in the “what ifs” all that does is make you miss the joy of today.”
Wow, did that hit home today! I guess it was the theme of the day!
Focus, Focus, Focus… Where are you?
Focus on what is…not the what ifs.
Focus on the gratitude of what you have and where you are now.
Focus on what you really want…your intentions.
Then relax, enjoy, and devise a plan to go get there.
It worked for me and I’m grateful to my horses, my friend, and my reader who helped me remember to slow down, relax, be happy and then move forward. I slowed down, relaxed, and the answers came to me and the stress was diminished.
Thank you all! And I hope this little tidbit of wisdom from my friend, my horses, and Carmalee helps you in the near future as well.
Until next time…Happy Horses!
I’d love to hear your story about what your horse has shown you in the comments below.