Neigh #7… Share your whole heart. Inspire and encourage others by living your life in the moment. Be inclusive, not exclusive, in your relationship with yourself and those around you.
By the end of my drinking, and even the few years before I started my recovery, I lost all control of my life. I gave the reins over to alcohol. I didn’t do it intentionally, but by the time I realized that I couldn’t live without alcohol, I was under its power. There was no way for me to live in my heart and share it with others when my mind, body, and soul were consumed by alcohol.
Recovery has given me back the chance to be healthy in my thoughts, feelings, and actions and to work on what makes my soul happy. Only in recovery do I have the opportunity to figure out what fulfills me. Caring about me and loving me has given me the personal space to work on truly sharing my whole heart.
I thought I loved when I was drinking. I had love for others, but now I wonder how I expressed it? Did they even know it by my actions? Dependent on alcohoI – drinking 24/7 — I certainly never gave myself the love and attention I needed to be whole. I learned in recovery that I gave away way too much of my personal power to alcohol. I needed to recover in order to feel my heart. Only then could I fully share it.
I also had to learn that sharing my heart did not mean giving it away. My heart was fragile as it learned to trust; and others had to earn their way into it. Emotionally I took some hard knocks figuring this out. It’s been an incredibly hard lesson for me and even today one I continue to learn. Giving my heart in a whole and healthy way is very powerful. And sometimes takes a lot of courage to do.
Recovery has given me back the chance to be healthy in my thoughts, feelings, and actions and to work on what makes my soul happy.
Being inclusive, not exclusive, means giving my heart first to myself and then to others. One thing I’ve learned is that sharing my whole heart sometimes means loving from afar through prayer or through blessing them in my thoughts. Protecting my heart, loving me, and staying healthy are all part of sharing my whole heart.
When I walk into the barn the horses show me that they feel my heart’s energy, whatever it is. They will do the same for you. Will you approach them with good energy or negative energy? They won’t be fooled. You can’t fake a smile. You can’t fake a good mood with them. They simply tap into the emotion in your heart. They gift us with their hearts’ energy, allowing us to relax and let go of our unhealthy emotions. They stand with us as we open our hearts so we can start to heal.
Our horses are waiting to share their whole hearts with you so you can start sharing your whole heart with yourself and with others. Don’t you deserve to be “Touched by a Horse*?” Don’t you deserve to love yourself in a healthy way? Come let our horses be your guides. Make yourself a priority and we will see you in the barn!
*Learn more about the EGCMethod Certification that Kathy holds by visiting TouchedbyaHorse.com