Eight Daring Women

I spent last weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with seven of my new best friends.  Our purpose:  explore and respond to our soul’s whisper and heart’s desire.  The journey within can be more fearful than traveling to the most remote corners of the world.  Here is my ode to my fellow travelers.

Eight daring women step into the arena.

Four stalwart horses stand at attention, electric with anticipation.

Eight daring heartbeats racing, pulsing through the sultry, arid ether.

Eight daring women eye-to-eye with one-thousand pound sentient beings.

Eight daring women exposed and vulnerable.

Eight daring women open to the possibilities.

Eight daring women supporting one another through tears and laughter.

Eight daring women forever changed.

 

Thank you Beth Bryce, my fellow travelers and my two equine teachers, Dandi and Lilly, for helping me understand the importance of stillness and letting my bright light shine.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Best

Unsure of how to present my experiences as the host mother for a teen exchange student over the past few months, I have kept radio silence.  I want to emphasize that the following is about my path to self-awareness and personal growth and not a reflection on the student.  Yes, it’s all about me.

Deciding to do the right thing and take in an exchange student mid-school year opened an opportunity to learn a lot about myself.

The Good:  When presented with an option to step up and put someone else’s needs before my own, I did the right thing and said yes.  A Good thing!

The Bad:  Having all the responsibility for another’s welfare and no authority to make decisions caused me to question my choice to care for someone else’s child.  If this had been my child, I would have done things differently.  I learned t to keep my opinion to myself.  It felt like being between a rock and a hard place.  Bad!

The Ugly:  Resenting changes to my personal, financial and social life – Really Ugly!

The Best:  I’m still growing and learning.  I may not always like what I learn, but knowing what I know now, I would still make the same choice.  Perhaps I will be better prepared mentally and emotionally to let go of the bad and the ugly.