It’s been a long, hot summer. I feel like I’ve been at the barn most of the time, sweating and shooing away flies. But some morning, most mornings, as I watch the horses in the field grazing and I’m pushing the wheelbarrow full of manure to the pile, and I’m watering my veggies, and putting fly spray on the horses, I feel like I’m meant to do this. This simple life. Care-taking of the land, care-taking of the animals, and being immersed in the daily changes that nature has to offer. I think I’ve been doing this forever.
But then, again, I do get restless, and I do get bored. Doing the same thing, day in and day out. And as I clean the stalls, I find my mind wandering. Today I was thinking about the richness of life that these horses have brought me. The amazing people that I’ve met, the places that I’ve seen and the animals that I’ve been blessed to know.
So when I’m getting bored or crabby with the routine, I switch my words and it works to switch my mood. Instead of saying I HAVE to go out the the barn and take care of the horses, I change it to, I GET to come out every day and experience the beauty of this valley in a way I would never be able to do otherwise. This land, nestled in a small strip of valley between ridges and river is indescribably beautiful.
I’ve been on this county road, that runs through the valley, for the last 30 years and I do feel like it holds me in an embrace of protection. That it is my home. More so than house that I reside in. Even in the bitter cold and snow of winter, there is peace here. We’ve been to more than a few of the ranches along this corridor, my horses and I, and they’ve all been equally stunning and special. Without my horses, I would never have access to this land, and for that I am extremely grateful.
And without horses, I wouldn’t get to travel the world riding. I can think of all of the people that have journeyed with me and who have welcomed me and my groups into their homes and lives. Their faces and joy of life are forever etched into my heart and that is the richness that I talk about. The richness of the big moments and the richness of the everyday moments.
There is not a single place or a single trip that I don’t want to do again and again, but alas, life is short and there are many thousands of places yet to explore. Who’s ready to experience some richness of life with me?
