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| Beau enjoying green pastures... |
That's a question worth asking yourself on a regular basis because you probably got into horses specifically to increase the joy in your life. I'm all for helping horse people increase their joy because it increases positive energy in barns. That benefits us all, and our horses even more so. After all, they're the ones spending the most time there... living within the energy we create.
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| ...and making new friends. (Photo by Birgit Spears) |
So, if you're not enjoying your journey as much as you'd like... whether at the barn, work, home, or wherever... here's a little tip. Stop thinking you have to learn how to control your emotions. Just give it up. It's an exercise in futility.
Emotions are like wild horses that refuse to be tamed. That's because they were never meant to be. And, like horses, they are too big to overpower. You can try to suppress them, which so many people do, but it's the same as sticking a herd of wild horses in a barn in which they refuse to stay. They'll just start kicking the walls and eventually destroy the building from the inside out.
Give up trying to control your emotions. Set your wild horses free to do their job, which is to serve as guides to your happiness. The joy comes when you steer your thoughts in the direction they are pulling you.
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| My pups enjoying the porch at our new home. |
When you think positive thoughts about yourself, a situation or other people, you feel positive emotion, correct? Of course you do because your wild horses are saying, "Yes, yes, yes! Come this way to happiness." Conversely, when you think negatively about anything your wild horses give you a kick. Doubt, anger, worry, guilt, fear, etc...negative emotion is nothing more than your herd saying, "Knock it off! Turn your thoughts in a better feeling direction."
It might seem like it's other people doing the kicking, and that's because most of the world's population think people ought to feel bad for all kinds of reasons. That's the kind of thinking that gets people doubting their emotional guidance systems in the first place. For the sake of your own happiness, give up worrying about what other people think and start caring more about what you think.
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| And here I am enjoying Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. |
Your own thoughts, on every subject, matter to your happiness more than anything else. Your wild horses will always let you know if you are thinking in alignment with your own happiness. They are your direct link to your inner-being...
...the divine part of you that knows you are meant to feel good about yourself all the time. You feel bad only when you think otherwise. (Kick!)
...the part of you that knows you are capable of doing, being and having whatever you want. You feel bad only when you think differently. (Kick, kick!)
...the part of you that knows others are meant to feel good about themselves as well. You feel bad about other people only when you think in opposition. (Kick, kick, kick!)
To truly enjoy every step of your journey, it's imperative you think about how your thoughts make you feel, and train yourself to reach for thoughts that make you feel better. It's not always easy, but it is always possible. Practice enough and you'll see. Get in the habit of thinking about things the way your inner-being does and you'll discover so much happiness wild horses couldn't drag you back to thinking any other way.
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Enjoy your journey to the fullest by learning how to get calm, cooperative behavior from your horse!
"Just got your book and I can't put it down! Packed with knowledge and instruction, can't wait to pass on the gold!"
-Katie Keller Trosclair
