It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of January. But maybe that’s a good thing. The pressure we put on ourselves and each other at this time of the year! What a way to -- maybe not -- start things off!

It's an arbitrary transition but it is one whether we like it or not. Calendars, holidays, social expectations, parenting all lean on us and ask us to do things like: reflect, change, amend, clean, better ourselves, connect with others, make commitments, break commitments, put the past to rest, fix the past, be more present, do it now, build a future.

Oh my goodness…it's a lot…but...
What if we just let ourselves BE?
What if we don't succumb to what our thinker brain tells us?
What if we just sit with lightness, like a feather barely touching the sticky mud?

I live with a herd of horses, my teachers. I spend long hours in the pasture with them, in their home, grazing alongside of them, and learning their way of life, their state of being, and their patterns in relationships. The lessons in which they have to offer I have yet to find in a human-led classroom.  

Consider Moonshine, one of our horses that was grazing nearby a young neighbor horse. It was time for him to go back to his herd. When I started to walk, I felt resistance in the lead rope. First Moonshine was slow to move, then he just wanted to stop. I slowed down, turned and let my eye meet his eye. I breathed and imagined a thread of love connecting my heart to his. Then I turned and we walked.

Maybe this is how we start a new year. Reluctant to move but willing. Slow enough to feel ourselves and those around us. We hold the day with the lightest touch, just two fingers. It's not about letting it go completely and we don't need to grab and tug at ourselves or others. One foot in front of the other. One breath at a time. Awareness leads us. We notice things. Let the day be a day.