Happiness Is...

Some folks don't know that I am a devout lover of all things horses. You can see this by the hat I am wearing in the picture. (Yes, it was 1980-something and my sister thought I was cool in my hat.) I grew up riding hunter jumpers and thought there was absolutely nothing better than riding and being around horses and horse-y people. My Dad was an equine vet and that just led me deeper into the equine world and I loved it. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful, leathered, tough lady as my riding instructor, Mrs. Wiseman. She was everything a coach and mentor should be. She didn't baby her students and she told us exactly as it was. And what we didn't know at the time was she was always right. I was taught how to care for the horse, how to groom, how to ride but most importantly, how to respect the horse. Along with all these lessons, I learned an awful lot about myself and gained a great amount of self-esteem. I think that comes being a horseman/woman...you develop confidence because you have to trust the animal and they have to trust you. It's a very fascinating relationship.

Mrs. Wiseman told us things like, "Don't let that horse know you are scared." (ah, ok) or "You will not ride my horse with that attitude." (that was directed at me when I was 11) or "Get right back up on that horse." (can't count the number of times I heard that while looking up at my horse from the ground) or "Sit up straight, suck in your belly, stick out your chest and breathe." All of her sayings were applicable to real life of course if you looked at it closely. My favorite thing she ever said to me though was this..."Put your heart on the other side of that fence and go for it." This of course was something she said to help us get over whatever fear was gripping our heart. Just visualizing this worked as my levels of confidence fluctuated and it helped me tremendously.

My all-time favorite horse was named Happiness Is, aka, Izzy. He was part Saddlebred and part Thoroughbred. What a combination for a girl who loves a Thoroughbred! He would jump whatever you pointed him toward and he loved it! He was happiest when he was doing what he loved. We had a very special relationship. (I will post a pic soon of he and I.) We were buddies. We had trust.

My whole point to this rambling is that fear has gripped my heart in the past few months over starting my business. I have panicked and asked myself many times various questions such as, "What are you doing??" "What if this, and what if that??" "Are you SURE??"

The answer...yes, I am sure. I have to trust my instincts. Because the road to Happiness Is...putting your heart on the other side of the fence and going for it.

I am learning you will never, ever know until you do.