How about we set ourselves inside a fence instead of a wall…

I’m always examining my comfort zone. Where can I position myself and feel safe with the horses and people around me? To build a wall around yourself is so isolating and can get lonely. You can’t see what’s going on outside of those walls which may feel safe but is not how God intended us to live. He gave us eyes to see, ears to hear, a brain to think, a body to be efficient, a heart to feel and asks us to live in community with one another… how can that happen behind walls? As long as I have had to navigate small spaces with the horses in my care, I have created, changed, ripped out and rearranged spaces in my pastures to create different and safer spaces for the horses. The gates that have been installed, for the most part, have been methodically thought out down to which way they swing. I can walk from one space to another, opening gates or through the fence. Being able to see where I am going and securing the space behind me allows me to navigate my surroundings. I’m not stuck behind those walls… I can walk in or out of the fence and see what is going on. So why do we isolate and throw up walls around ourselves?

Let’s put a horse behind walls with no light or sight of other horses and they only see people when it’s time to go into the arena and ride or when they are being fed… they are only let out of their stall to go outside while it is being cleaned then, back in to the 3 or 4 walls. How is it then when that horse has to respond to the stimulus outside his routine? It is because he is tolerant, and his sense of self-preservation far compares to what he must handle outside his stall.

Could this not be related to people who shut down and resolve because of the inability to communicate or become addicts who isolate? What truly is your comfort zone and is it comfortable?

It took me a while to get my horses to feel comfortable in a stall that is usually a 12x12 space. The stalls here are only for feeding separately 3 times a year or doctoring. If the weather is inclement, I might open up a stall or 2 which I will often find all 5 horses in one stall. I have heard that there is safety in numbers. (I have to go so I will write more later…hold that thought for me.)

Does this sound funny? Let’s look at invisible boundaries. Huh? example: I’m going to talk about my spiritual boundaries for a few sentences… I may not be able to visually see that for which I am shielding but I feel it, enough to be trepidatious. Those spiritual attacks are sneaky and fill with such lies. Have you ever watched a horse that you thought came out of nowhere and behaved in a way that brought your heart rate up? Then there may have been a bit of either fear or respect that came over you, looking at the horse or horses… first of all that is communication between the horses, and you probably missed what transpired prior to your noticing. Not to be insulting but there will always be a rythm or reason for their behavior… just watch their body language. Horses are always setting and pushing a bubble so to speak.

Humor me. Draw an imaginary line in a circle around yourself as big as you feel comfortable. (Use your forefinger as a pointer if need be.) . Take note, then put both arms straight out from your sides parallel with your shoulders. Now, make a circle around you a few times …that’s your personal space. The area beyond your space up to your imaginary line is your comfort zone. Learn to play there and explore what is beyond that… You can always pop back into your zone or space. Here is an opportunity to see what is going on around you, trusting your instincts, not having to engage should you deem fit or not and you have the choice to bring it or leave it with little effort. Walls are for war. Boundaries define us…they distinguish me from not me and you to you and so on…a place where you end and someone else begins. I think it could be called, owning your space? Yes… for the sake of others (and the horse) and ourselves.

Breathe in the good…and out with the bad… Bad could be a plethora of things from thoughts, emotions, feelings…blow it out…and get out from whatever is blocking your vision. Love