MANURE MEDITATIONS BLOG
I do most of my best thinking while I’m cleaning stalls or working on the pasture. I’m honored you’ve stopped by to read.
Day 9: The Space Where Confidence Lives
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...
Day 8: Negotiating Sharing a Space
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...
Day 7: Space and Anger
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...
Day 6: The Space of Grief
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...
Day 4: When the Landscape Changes You
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...
Day 3: The Day I Said NO
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. ...
Day 2: Day Middle School Sucks
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...
Day 1: Space as Power Over
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)...
Day 0: A Different Kind of Astronaut
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...
What Surrender is NOT
I host a monthly group where we go deep and discuss a particular word. A few months back we had a discussion of “Surrender” and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. As I prepped for the discussion, I came across a blog where the writer referred to a book called The...
When the Butterfly Lands…
Years ago we were visiting family in Virginia and in the parking lot at the trailhead, there was a massive gathering of gorgeous blue and black butterflies. (A “kaleidoscope” is the proper term. Isn't that cool?) My kids were delighted that if they stood still, the...
Knowing in Your Bones
I submit that until you "know something in your bones" you don't really know it. When you know something at the "bone" level, it’s embodied knowledge. It's part of who you are. Think of something that you know that "you know that you know." (I'm talking more about...
You Were Not Created for Burnout
Have you ever felt burned out, dear reader? A few years ago I was in a downward spiral of burnout and feeling really hopeless. NOTHING was working. Business sucked. I had no friends. My horses hated me. No one would care if I never showed my face again. I felt like a...
The Cure for Being Invisible
Have you ever felt invisible? There’s the age-old philosophical question of “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?” I used to think this was a stupid question (of course it does!!) Just because no one is around to hear it, we still KNOW it makes a...
When Good Learning Goes Bad
Back in the 90s when the internet was new and exciting, I remember watching Friends or Seinfeld and seeing commercials that ended with a web address. I was so curious to know what was there! We finally bought our first computer and I eagerly taught myself how to use...
How to Explore Boundaries and Comfort Zones
A group of college women came out last weekend for a little horseplay at HerdWise. After getting present, they explored boundaries and were astonished to discover how much they were ignoring what their bodies were telling them. The horses offered valuable feedback and...
The Hidden Truth about Confidence
Every spring at our old house we had barn swallows make their (very messy) nests. Still, I loved watching them grow from grotesque, bare-skinned creatures into cute fluffballs with wings and bright yellow lips. I’d watch through the window as they’d stretch their...
Why God’s Favorite Color is Gray
We humans, ardent seekers of certainty, love to categorize things. If we can make an issue black and white, we can relax about it because it’s “settled.” Unfortunately, while this may feel good in some ways, black/white thinking disconnects the heck out of us! If I’m...