Acknowledging All Feelings

Our emotions can often be overwhelming.  Although we may try to maintain positive thoughts all the time, we are human and are therefore prone to a wide range of emotions and feelings.  When we feel positive emotions like love, happiness, and gratitude the world seems at peace.  What do we do when we feel more negative emotions like anger, frustration and sadness?  Suppressing or ignoring those negative emotions is not going to make them go away.  Although it may be more difficult than acknowledging a positive feeling, acknowledging ALL of our emotions is exactly what we should do.

The first step of this process is to identify your feeling or emotion.  Being present in the moment and being aware of what your mind and body are telling you is key here.  Sometimes identifying an emotion can be tricky.  For example, your initial reaction to a situation may have been anger but you are really feeling more hurt than angry.  Taking a quiet moment to reflect on exactly what you are feeling and to identify it is the first step. Read more

Riding lessons for life #5

The most basic aspect of one’s riding position, that everyone learns their first time in the saddle, is “Keep your eyes up and look ahead!”  This is important because not only do you have to know where you are headed, it also communicates to your horse what your destination is.  A rider will also be told while jumping a horse over fences, to not look at the fence but to look beyond it, on the landing side, where you want to end up.  Focusing on the actual obstacle in front of you will mostly likely cause you to end up there, instead of on the other side.

The same is true in life. When encountering obstacles in life, one should not dwell on the hurdle.  Instead, one should look past it and focus on what lies on the other side.  When facing an illness, for example, think about being healed not the sickness.  When starting your business, instead of being overwhelmed by all the things you need to do and get and don’t have yet, focus on the abundance that will come your way when the business is up and running!

For me, nothing feels better or is more thrilling than landing a huge jump on a horse, or getting to the other side of one of life’s obstacles.  Keep your eyes up, look ahead and you will be able to clear ANY sized hurdle that comes your way!

Claire Affleck
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