For the Horses **HeartFull Living Self Care Adventure**

I promise to be brief ... especially as I seem to dwell in a realm below the surface of words and thinky thoughts these past few months years. 

There is so much chatter out there, I find myself retreating back into full on hermit mode in an effort to hear my heart speak.  What is important here? Where do I want to place my energy?  My attention? How can I keep clear the lines of communication between heart, mind and intuition? 

Simplicity, devotion and play. I return again and again to these three conceptions. The first two guided me through 2017, an unexpectedly hard year.  I feel my life shifting with  inquiry, discovery, and growth sending forth gentle tendrils of inspiration to lure me out of my cave and back into my world. The gesture which embodies all these qualities, for me, is Play. 

This year as part of my HeartFull Living experiment, I want to explore how self care, self inquiry and creative play allow us to embrace ourselves, our lives with great joy and with whole heartedness. As Brené Brown says, "Our capacity for wholeheartedness can never be greater than our willingness to be broken-hearted. It means engaging with the world from a place of vulnerability and worthiness." 

Vulnerability for me means sharing my practice with others. 

I think our capacity for wholeheartedness can never be greater than our willingness to be broken-hearted. It means engaging with the world from a place of vulnerability and worthiness.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/brene_brown_5530

I think our capacity for wholeheartedness can never be greater than our willingness to be broken-hearted. It means engaging with the world from a place of vulnerability and worthiness.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/brene_brown_553088

Beginning February 14 and running through March 2, I will offer weekly (Monday through Friday) emails to subscribers sharing my current process of self care as an expression of HeartFull living. This practice centers upon my art journal as a place for inquiry, devotion, play, and inspiration.  My hope is to inspire you to craft a practice of self care unique to your desires, talents and interests. Setting for myself the challenge to connect in a public way will certainly help me to stretch and grow in unexpected ways; sharing my experience I hope will be a catalyst for expansive living and loving in others.




As with previous HeartFull Living offerings, subscription fees will be donated to Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA), a nonprofit organization where I have volunteered for the past three years.  Specifically, all monies collected will go to the care of the therapy horses. Working with these horses has been a master class in HeartFull living and this is my way of thanking them for all that they do. (For more information on this year's campaign and the horse I am supporting, Red, visit my InnerGlow site)

Thank you for the amazing support! HeartFull Living 2018 is closed for this session.  

Play is not frivolous.  It is about trying things on, shaking things up, cultivating fresh insights and welcoming learning through the process. It is light and open. It is the epitome of HeartFull Living.  

This is not a class or a how-to or must-do. This will be simple emails where I share my process, my images and experiences, questions and thoughts with you to inspire your process.  You do not have to keep a journal or do any specific practice. Rather, I would hope you would find your way to what lights up your heart and your imagination and allow that to guide you towards the journey that fulfills your heart and world. Let's be empty of expectations and judgements and come with an open mind, and an eager heart ready for spaciousness, play and connection. 

for the ♥ of horses

Can you feel it? Spring IS coming! I can see tender green shoots shaking off the sleep of winter and pushing up through moist soil towards warm, sunny skies. I too find myself slipping outdoors, sitting on the stoop and turning my face towards the warmth, towards the promise of hope and growth.  

Winter has been an emotional and physical grind. For me anyway. But the gift of challenging times is discovering what truly supports me and leaning fully into it.  Community. Yoga and meditation practice. Music. My sketchbook practice.

And the horses. 

These past few weeks I have committed myself to painting portraits of some of my favorite horses in the Hetra herd: the very first horses I worked with as a sidewalker, Charm (pictured above) and Smokey (shown hanging with his buddy, Red);

the Dude of the herd (and last year's Horse of the Year) Waldo;

and the youngest (and wildest) member, Tenneson (with another herd newbie, Georgie on the right.)

Drawing and then painting each horse has allowed me to perceive the differences in  breeds but also in the wide array of personalities. After completing a portrait, I return to the Hetra barn with renewed appreciation for the contribution of these amazing creatures to the healing process for all involved in the therapy sessions. Yes, the riders are the clients served by all, but all - sidewalkers, horse leaders, therapists, client family members -  are impacted by the spirit of the horse working in the session. 

To date I have painted close to half the Hetra Herd. (If you follow me on Instagram, I have been posting images there.)  As part of the Horse Penny Race (a yearly event focused upon raising funds to support the exceptional care of these hardworking therapy horses) I have created a set of 11 postcards depicting 10 of the Hetra Horses (one card is a horse image I created before this project started.) All proceeds (after printing and shipping expenses) will be donated to the Hetra Horse Penny Race.

I hope you consider supporting these amazing creatures by purchasing a set of cards (cost includes shipping.)  Quantities are limited, so get 'em while they are fresh off the press!

Thank you for all your support!  Over $400 was raised through the sale of these postcards - Way to go!
My plan is to complete all 22 of the current herd (including the mini horses) sometime this Spring.  I am not sure if I will create more postcards, but then again seeing the entire herd spread out upon my table may be more than I can resist :)