Changes
September 21, 2014
When I was a classroom teacher teaching junior high language arts I used to have my students write a statement in their journals and respond. My favorite statement I used to share with them was, “The only constant thing is change.”
I think about this a lot because in our daily lives we are always dealing with changes, additions, losses, remorse, happiness, sadness, emotional upheaval, letting things go, attitude changes and adjustments and the list goes on and on.
As I stated in my last blog Sold! I am in the process of letting things go. I have literally let things pile up in my life. I just want to lighten my load and burden. When I am in the process of selling things people are always telling me you can’t keep on selling things but really I can. I have SO MUCH stuff that I just want to let most of it go.
Years ago, in 1993 I made the decision to move overseas for an amazing opportunity teaching at an international school in Bangkok, Thailand (International School Bangkok or ISB). Teaching at this school changed me forever because in that school I had to focus on teaching and being prepared for these amazingly intelligent children. I rarely had to discipline children and so I had such a huge change in my career. I just got to teach. I loved it so much that I stayed there for 4 years, and then moved to Brazil to teach high school art at EAB in Brasilia, Brazil. While I was teaching there I was given the opportunity to ride a Brazilian gaited horse called a Mangalarga Marchador. That event changed me forever because after a continuous schedule of Wednesday evening rides; I started to think about what I really wanted because what I had was not what I wanted. I wanted to have my own horse.
So that school year when I rode horses on Wednesday evenings with my Brazilian friends Jorge and Alan I decided to move home to Canada and buy my first horse.
During my first year at home I bought my first horse. His name was Beethoven and he was a mixed breed. He taught me what not to do ever when training a horse. I had a few spills but mostly I was filled with joy because I was doing exactly what I wanted. I was working with my very own horse. Back then the luxury of innocence was my saving grace for doing really stupid things with horses. I did not know any better. Lucky for me I have extremely strong bones and I had a knack for reflecting on what I’ve done. What have you learned from this Karen is what I always asked myself.
I have since changed my ride, Beethoven, for many horses and have finally chosen my ultimate favorite horse, my Canadian whose full name is K-Sir-A Green Acres Hobo. He is my best friend and acts more like a dog than a horse. He is my forever horse. I do wish that I’d found a horse like him when I first began to fulfill my love for horses. In reflection though I know that I would never have learned as much as I did from Beethoven. He was my first love and made me realize when I had done too much. He kept me thinking about what to change and how I could make things better. When I sold him I didn’t think that I was giving up on him. I was helping him have a better home than I could give him. I always understand that nothing lasts forever and when he showed me that he wanted a new home, I listened. It wasn’t easy though. Finally one night I laid my head on his shoulder and cried. I was finally letting him go after ten years of being together. It was time for a change.
When I was a classroom teacher teaching junior high language arts I used to have my students write a statement in their journals and respond. My favorite statement I used to share with them was, “The only constant thing is change.”
I think about this a lot because in our daily lives we are always dealing with changes, additions, losses, remorse, happiness, sadness, emotional upheaval, letting things go, attitude changes and adjustments and the list goes on and on.
As I stated in my last blog Sold! I am in the process of letting things go. I have literally let things pile up in my life. I just want to lighten my load and burden. When I am in the process of selling things people are always telling me you can’t keep on selling things but really I can. I have SO MUCH stuff that I just want to let most of it go.
Years ago, in 1993 I made the decision to move overseas for an amazing opportunity teaching at an international school in Bangkok, Thailand (International School Bangkok or ISB). Teaching at this school changed me forever because in that school I had to focus on teaching and being prepared for these amazingly intelligent children. I rarely had to discipline children and so I had such a huge change in my career. I just got to teach. I loved it so much that I stayed there for 4 years, and then moved to Brazil to teach high school art at EAB in Brasilia, Brazil. While I was teaching there I was given the opportunity to ride a Brazilian gaited horse called a Mangalarga Marchador. That event changed me forever because after a continuous schedule of Wednesday evening rides; I started to think about what I really wanted because what I had was not what I wanted. I wanted to have my own horse.
So that school year when I rode horses on Wednesday evenings with my Brazilian friends Jorge and Alan I decided to move home to Canada and buy my first horse.
During my first year at home I bought my first horse. His name was Beethoven and he was a mixed breed. He taught me what not to do ever when training a horse. I had a few spills but mostly I was filled with joy because I was doing exactly what I wanted. I was working with my very own horse. Back then the luxury of innocence was my saving grace for doing really stupid things with horses. I did not know any better. Lucky for me I have extremely strong bones and I had a knack for reflecting on what I’ve done. What have you learned from this Karen is what I always asked myself.
I have since changed my ride, Beethoven, for many horses and have finally chosen my ultimate favorite horse, my Canadian whose full name is K-Sir-A Green Acres Hobo. He is my best friend and acts more like a dog than a horse. He is my forever horse. I do wish that I’d found a horse like him when I first began to fulfill my love for horses. In reflection though I know that I would never have learned as much as I did from Beethoven. He was my first love and made me realize when I had done too much. He kept me thinking about what to change and how I could make things better. When I sold him I didn’t think that I was giving up on him. I was helping him have a better home than I could give him. I always understand that nothing lasts forever and when he showed me that he wanted a new home, I listened. It wasn’t easy though. Finally one night I laid my head on his shoulder and cried. I was finally letting him go after ten years of being together. It was time for a change.