21 Days of Taking Up Space:

With the maiden name of Klöppel, I was excited about our move to Germany many years back. I was eager to learn the language of my ancestors. What stood out the most about learning a language as an adult was the importance of prepositions.  You know--those little words...

As a recovering people pleaser, any conversation that involves conflict is hard. I was recently reminded--again-- that I tend not to ask for something unless I’m 99% sure that the answer will be YES. The story I tell myself is if you give me what I ask for and/or...

My client arrived at the barn frustrated by and still ruminating on an unpleasant conversation she’d had earlier in the day. She found it really hard to let go and be present. In the weeks before, we’d worked together online to reconnect her to her body and herself. ...

Susan and I had been friends since kindergarten. Her grades were always just little bit better than mine which meant I was often compared to her.  When we learned cursive in 3rd grade, her penmanship rivaled our teacher’s! I’d even call it “cute”--that’s how good it...

It used to be that when I was by myself I was as confident as they came. I believed in and trusted myself. I knew the right things to say and I could feel myself acting in healthy ways even in sticky situations. But it rarely turned out the way I'd imagined. I could...

I have a friend here visiting.  She was going through a rough time and she took me up on my offer to come down and take a break from it all.  I was excited when she finally arrived and I was looking forward to us playing with my horses and exploring healing from an...

I was home from college and the “Freshman 15” I’d put on was still sticking around. I heard my mom and my aunt in the kitchen talking and the subject of my weight gain came up.  This was already a sore spot for me. As a swimmer in high school and I was *hungry* when I...

He was only 7 hands, about 28 inches, at the withers, but that was the only thing small about him. Rooster had a personality big enough to fill a Clydesdale. I’ve learned valuable lessons from all my horses, but Rooster taught me some of the biggest.  He arrived with...

Summers in college, I worked on a small, quiet guest ranch in Estes Park,Colorado. The work was very physical with long hours, but I loved it. It doesn’t get much better than getting paid to ride a horse in beautiful country! On a typical day we’d spend as much as 6...

When a Honey Bear container is full, the honey fills every little hair, every bit of nose and ear. We’ve all been allotted an amount of space to occupy in this life. Our challenge is to learn how to take up this space in every moment. All of it. No more. No less. ...

When I was young, I used to sing in our backyard, imagining and hoping the birds would come. I wanted to be like Snow White because the birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other woodland creatures cheerfully joined her when she sang. The connection she had with all the...

It was in Rome that I first became consciously aware of space used as power. After graduating from college, my long time friend and I toured Europe from the “luxury” of a bus with about 25 other recent college grads. 17 countries in 21 days (or something like that)...

I remember watching the moon landing on the small black & white TV in my parents’ bedroom, I sensed my dad’s excitement, but I had no understanding of the enormity of the event. More recently, I’ve been awed by the stunning images of outer space being transmitted...