Where did 2015 go? I don’t know if it feels the same to you, but it seem the year was gone in a flash! My focus words for the year were Gratitude and Grace (with Humor!). I have been blessed with so many wonderful people, horses and adventures in my life as well as an amazing farm I have developed (with help) over the last 10 years! I have read many books that say gratitude can change your life, but secretly deep down I was not good at being thankful or appreciative of what I have. I often only see the things I want better or the things that need to be fixed or what is next on my to do list. It was very hard for me to STOP and take in what I have and even what I have accomplished.
It just seemed right on my 10th year here at Dragonfly Farm to focus on being grateful and it has changed me. I now have a sense of contentment. In the first couple of months, I had to be very mindful and stop and make myself say “thank you” but now it comes easy. When a training horse is giving me a hard time, I am able to pause and say “thanks for the opportunity to learn from you” and I look and feel and think how can I help this horse to a better place. When things break I say “thanks for serving me for 10 years” and I replace or repair what broke. It’s in the little things that I have put the most effort into saying thanks and I believe it is making a world of difference.
Now I can take full credit for the idea of this. It came from a book I listened to on tape that helped me make the transition. “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo gave me tons of insight and ideas on how to not only purge but to give thanks and let go of things that aren’t serving me or my mission.
Gratitude is good and I feel it led to me having much more Grace. To me Grace is a flow, a way of going with smoothness and ease. It is how I hope my horse and I move together; it is how I try to deliver information to my students; and it’s is how I aim to be in life-moving to my own tune in the flow of nature. And hopefully laughing as much as possible on the way!
Here on this last day of 2015, it is fun to look back at my focus words and see how they kept me aligned throughout the year! Some of the highlights of my year included:
– continuing to train and develop Moonshine, my competition horse from American Horsewoman Challenge.
-getting an amazing new partner in Orion, a trouble horse donated to me who helped me reach the goal of jumping bridle-less.
-developing the first ever bitless and bridle-less Drill Team in Aiken.
-adding to the facilities at my farm with an awesome viewing deck on the arena and a fabulous clubhouse/office/classroom with the help of the amazing Morgan Family!
-helping countless amazing clients be safer and more effective in developing the horse relationship of their dreams!
I hope your 2015 was amazing and I wish you all the best of 2016! What are your focus words for the upcoming year??