When am I going to Get With It?

I've just not been able to get a schedule going this summer, but the kids are back in school and so I hope, with the return of regularity, I'll be able to faithfully comply with my goals.

Link for the Long Riders' Guild added to sidebar

More Sunday Digressions . . .

"The problem with fear," Yin went on, "is that it can be very subtle and sneak up on us quickly. You see, a fear image is always about some outcome we don't want. We fear failing, embarrassing ourselves or our families, losing our freedom or someone we love, or our own lives. The difficult part is that when we begin to feel such fear, it often turns into anger, and we use this anger to martial our forces and fight back against whoever we feel is the threat.

"Whether we are feeling fear or anger, we have to realize that these emotions come from one source: those aspects of our lives we want to hold on to.

"[Since] fear and anger come from being concerned that we are going to lose something, the way to avoid these emotions is to be detached from all outcomes."

* * *

"I did not say not to care," he continued. "I said not to be attached to any particular outcome. What we get in life is always slightly different from what we want anyway. To be detached is to realize that there is always a higher purpose that can be found in any event, in any outcome. We can always find a silver lining, a positive meaning, that we can build on."

The Secret of Shambhala, by James Redfield, published in 1999.

What are you the most afraid of?

I was listening to NPR the other day and the host asked the guest, a well-know successful recording artist, "What are you the most afraid of?" His answer: Failure. I began to think, what am I most afraid of? It isn't failure--I give it the ol' college try without fear. So, what is it?

To be sure, there are many,many things in life of which to be afraid. Pain, death, failure, "fear itself," hmmm. Perhaps there aren't as many different things as I thought. It appears that everything can be categorized under one of these headings.

I think my biggest fear is, not death, but dying with having my life not count for anything. This must be a common fear, witness all of the testamentary endowments. People do try to leave something good behind, and that would come under "fear of death."

Fear of death: pointless
Fear of pain (physical AND emotional): some is unavoidable so fear is pointless. With optional exposure to pain, merely do the equation--balance the possible pain against the possible pleasure/enjoyment/advancement--and make a decision.
Fear of failure: see above, but failure is only painful if you let it be painful.
Fear of fear: your choice.

I can see how a fearless life can lead to a joyful life. Have a good Sunday.

Sunday Digression

The west wind wooed the blushing rose,

And blew her kisses sweet with musk

From dawn of day until the stars

Shone tenderly thro' purple dusk.

The west wind wooed the blushing rose,

And sang to her a heart-song true,

And placed upon her head a crown

Of sunshine's gold begemmed with dew.

The west wind wed the blushing rose,

Embowered there in the leafy nook,

And heaven blessed their first-born fair,

The fragrant and the warm Chinook.

Cow Boy Lyrics, by Robert V. Carr, published 1908

Catching My Breath

From vacation I headed into a full work week--haven't even had time to put all the camping stuff away or do my laundry.

I'm sending one of my horses, who doesn't know enough to do a job, away to training this weekend. I think he's in for a bit of a surprise . . .

He thinks all he is supposed to do is run around and look fancy! Stay tuned to see how it goes.

I will be working with my 3-year old some, this year, and my 4 month old baby boy.

I'm BACK!