It feels like months since I sat with my laptop to write a blog post.
Now I know the posts have come and gone. But, so has summer and fall. The leaves were full and green, then color came and went. Horse activities kept spinning during the long summer days. School started. Farming For Resilience (FFR) fall programs sped by in the blink of an eye. Thanksgiving peeks around the corner. Basically, I have no idea where time has gone. And yet, I have REALLY tried to savor every moment. I have tried to "save" the smiles seen as FFR participants jump off the school bus at Elm Farm. I have tried to savor autumn's reflective time as the days shorten. And I tried to cherish the one day of sun we had. No, just kidding. We have had more than that, but THAT IS WHAT I MEAN. Time can distort everything. Time becomes longer, shorter, faster…it jumps and it hides. Time is a force to be reckoned with. To counter this chaos, I begin each day with a daily sweep. I have lived my waking life in a horse barn and every barn needs a good sweep…OFTEN. It makes me feel good inside and out, so I have never been opposed to picking up a broom. An act of sweeping the aisle has become a way for me to get comfortable with life's chaos. Sweeping has always felt therapeutic. Light exercise and a dance rhythm with a satisfying end game. Mornings bring a daily sweep to the barn... and my brain. A daily brain sweep to clean up the clutter. As I start sweeping, I take a mental look at the day behind. What am I leaving on the floor of yesterday? What dirt is left in that corner of time? As I sweep and pick up any leftovers from time spent, I turn my sights on the day ahead. What "set up" or schedule would most help this day? A barn or brain rarely stays picked up and swept. Yet the habit seems to help me on many levels. Although equipment will be left out, hoof pickings will scatter the aisle and overflowing feelings will lay about, the chaos will touch me only a little. I have strengthened myself to be comfortable with life's chaos. May you find a comfortable chaos,
Christina