Effective horsemanship is as much about learning to be a sustainable presence as it is anything else, and sustainability- the capacity to keep showing up and doing the necessary work- requires that we have a foothold in some kind of joy, ease, or lightness so that we can play the long game.
On the face of it, this doesn’t seem that complicated, but the reality is that many of us have a tough time letting ourselves feel good. In its place, we disproportionately focus on the things that we view as our failings or inadequacies, leading to feelings of overwhelm, immobilization, or collapse.
This doesn’t have as much to do with reality as it does the distribution of our awareness. Under stress, our tendency is to contract around the difficulty or concern, pushing all the separate strands of our experience together into a tangled ball and holding them tightly.
As you move through your day, notice where you are throwing away your power and where it is strengthened. Notice if, in the midst of discomfort, you are able to find something that feels more easeful; a less heavy thought, a more spacious feeling, a moment of gentleness. Notice how it’s possible for more than one state of being to exist at the same time, and within your noticing, if you can allow your awareness to rest on the lightest of the options available to you, if only fleetingly.
Onwards.
❤️ Jane
www.confidentrider.online/joyride
