Merry Christmas!

Stella and I wanted to say Merry Christmas, everyone!

Go hug your ponies, give them an extra flake of hay, a few carrots and tell them how wonderful they are. They deserve it. And don't forget to be good to yourself. Allow yourself to enjoy the holiday season for what it should be: a time to spend with family, friends and loved ones.

This has been one heck of a year, but I finally got to go home yesterday to be with my family and celebrate the holidays. I have so many things to look forward to: as weird, uncomfortable, tragic, sad, depressing and exasperated as this year has been, I have learned SO much, and I've only started to scratch the surface of what I'm capable of, as a horseperson and as a human being.

Stella and I have started to very slowly reconnect. I firmly believe that all of us have to pick our way through our troubles on our own time, in our own way. If we are to get to a better, happier place, we have GOT to do it ourselves. The self-argumentation, the long nights spent tossing and turning, the reflection that seems to rise and fall like the bow of a ship in on a dark, stormy sea....it's all part of the process. If you don't eventually figure that out, you're doomed so be in that dark place forever. I've realized recently that trying to shove our inner demons back and ignore them only exacerbates our problems. If you can recognize your bad habits, your monsters, and learn to see them and then re-channel their powerful energy, you are destined for things far greater and far deeper and very rewarding.

People do not change. We only learn to manipulate and re-work who we are to serve us in the way that we need. Learning and really realizing this has been the ultimate Christmas present, better than any gadget or gizmo I could ever receive. It's the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours: may the holiday season bring you everything you hoped for, and maybe a few things you didn't even know you needed :)