Acting with intention

My year in review will have to wait a bit, I was having a conversation with a good friend tonight,and it prompted one of my random rambles.
I told my friend, (Cut-N-Jump) of The Well Groomed Horse and Show in Style that I planned to blame/thank her for this inspiration depending on how the ramble turned out ! lol

The conversation was about what  her, or my "word for the year" would be.Cut-N-Jump, is a very talented gal, trainer, seamstress, and all around creative lady,she has a line of fly masks that I am privileged to use here and is also making horse blankets, as well as sewing a lot of her own clothing and clothes for her adorable girls! She is working hard to turn that talent into a business, and is going to be a huge success! In that she is also a believer that if you visualise it , or plan for it  it will come. Therefore the "word for the year" hers will be a strong powerful springboard type of word to help her launch.

So that prompted me to think about what my "word" would be. Looking back at 2014 I had a lot going on, big changes in the end of the old home farm, and then my father in law's illness and passing. Losing my dear friend "Mom Brown" on the same day, and also letting go of my beloved Jazzy mare. All of these thinks rocked me , and I felt very drained as the year closed.Yet I also found some great joy in the work I do with the kids and horses, also in personal development of my own , recovering use of my arm and returning to the pool. So in 2015 what do I need? my instant answer was balance , and peace.

 So here is where the ramble starts,
I have written  before about "picture the feeling " as a tool I use with the kids to help them find focus and centre when working through tasks with the horses. Helping them to develop calm. But that tool is also helpful  in completing tasks. "Picture the feeling " or picture the task being completed. I showed these pics in my last post but they are suited for this as well. My student was working with Andee, side passing along a rail in hand. I showed her with Cat, then asked her to try, this was not just about side passing but about problem solving and patience. Andee knows how to side pass under saddle just fine but was quite  wide eyed about the arena and the rails. It took a few tries, but they got it done one direction, then to go back it was a bigger challenge!
Again, I used the prompt "picture the feeling" and had my student close her eyes and essentially  replay the moment before , then try again with that replay going on in her head, eyes open or closed (she did it with eyes closed  these kids are sooo cool!) And what do you think happened???

 yup success!!!!

See it , feel it , believe it , and do it!
That is what I mean by acting with intention. If we face a task,I hesitate to use the word problem,because it puts "brakes on our brains" in that we already see failure as an option when we believe we face a problem, when we face a task  however,if we approach it with (my favourite line)  "a plan to succeed" we stand a far better chance of doing just that!

So acting with intention,is that sense of seeing the task, in its parts and as a whole, visualising it as a success then moving into the task with the positive outcome in mind. This causes us to act, with confidence and to create an environment that allows for positive effect.

This does not mean go blazing through like a brush fire or a bulldozer, there is still the element of energy and resistance to be balanced but a well planned success is achievable.
Andee who was acting silly and playing wild eyed wonder, even did this !

At liberty and yes she walked the length of the rail to me with legs on either side (had I known I was going to write this post I would have videoed it , but I can always do it next time) Because , I intend for there to be a next time !

So while this post and acting with intention is similar in a way to my "plan to succeed post" and one a while back called "Extra Pickles please " (Ask for what you want like the answer is yes) it is different in that not only am I talking about this for horses , I am talking about acting/living with intention.

So what will my "word for 2015" be?  Well in keeping with this ramble, and the fact I don't make resolutions, what I want for 2015, are peace and balance, I want to keep swimming and return to being strong enough to enjoy riding/saddling and riding my horses, also to continue this work I am doing with the kids and horses! they are teaching me so much!
So that is what I want, how do I get it? well if I "Picture the feeling" of what I want ,it is a calm flowing river (funny that is the feeling I picture often when working with horses, and it is going well)
So my "word" will be  RIVER, I will just have to keep it in focus and not let me wind up in the Rapids!
There you go, first ramble of 2015, and because it makes sense to me, I will THANK CnJ  for the inspiration!

-30C overnight here so I will sign off saying Stay warm, and as always my friends , stay safe!