Southern phrases still amuse me when I hear a new one that I have not heard before. I recently heard this expression from a friend of mine who was born and raised in North Carolina. The analogy makes me chuckle.
I would like to ask you what gives your life a spark and results in a feeling of rejuvenation?
I have put considerable time and energy into discovering my passions and allocating time to spend on my passion projects. For me, my passion is horses, and animals in general. I am reverted to an eight-year-old girl when I am riding a fun pony or see a dog sitting in the driver’s seat of a car looking like a human.
I am recharged after spending time in nature with Pony Max, my horse. The nicker I receive as a greeting when I walk up to his fence is very gratifying. He walks across the field to greet me at the gate which is the biggest compliment. It took years for me to gain his love and trust, for him to walk away from his herd to come to me. In the beginning, there were times when he ran away from me when I went to the field with his halter to get him. If you have ever tried to “catch a horse” you know how frustrating this rejection can be. It also is not the easiest task to catch a horse that does not want to be caught. There were times I left empty handed and aggravated. Perhaps because it took time and patience, to earn his trust I value it even more.
Are you filling your cup? It is a choice to allocate time to activities that speak to your inner eight-year-old. Our lives can be hectic and stressful which depletes our reserves of energy. Vacations are great but might only come around once or twice a year or even less. I know many people who do not take vacations. A weekly commitment to spend time on activities that recharge your battery can help make life more enjoyable and sustain your energy to complete the tasks that are draining.
Running on an empty tank can also weaken your immunity. It is not selfish to spend some of your time doing what you love doing. Sometimes we are so far removed from this concept that we do not remember what cranks our tractor or fills our tank.
I encourage you to contemplate the question, “What is calling to you?” Think back to your childhood days. What activities did you choose in your free time? Did you prefer Art, PE, or Science in school? You can pick more than one. I enjoy horses but cooking also fills my cup. When I was an eight-year old I enjoyed nature, ballet, and reading about horses because I didn’t have access to the real thing. If you already know what your passion is then you can skip this step.
The next step is to identify the blocks or reasons why you are not allowing yourself time to explore and enjoy your passion. What are the chocks that are preventing your tractor wheels from rolling? A friend might be able to help you with this. Once you have identified the blocks, how do you go about moving the chocks out from under your tractor wheels? One way is with cognitive reframing which is a powerful technique to change your mind set.
Start with baby steps. I started with 1 horseback riding lesson a week. That lesson was just 1 hour long but I kept at it for years and slowly expanded the time I spent at the barn. Then I volunteered 4 hours a week working as an adult helper for a while. I purchased a horse years later and dove into the deep end of the pool of my passions.
Now that I am an adult, I realize that I have the power to create my life and I spend as much time around horses as I can manage. In December of 2021, Pony Max retired and I no longer get to ride him. I just enjoy caregiving tasks and the love that he returns to me. In 2022, I started facing my fears by taking vaulting lessons on a beautiful half linger named Daisy. These activities replenish my energy and add enjoyment and peace to my life.
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