Woke up this morning late. 9:30 to be exact. I was so warm and cozy that getting out of bed was unthinkable. My room very dark, warm and safe. I realized that my smile has returned. Yeppers I woke up smiling this morning. 

I find that little things make me smile. Like last night I turned on the TV to find Tony, McGee, Zeva, Gibbs, Ducky and Abby. Just quick shots of each of them but as they each appeared on the screen my smile grew larger and my heart welled up with a peaceful joy that I could feel radiating from me filling up the room.  I thought to myself that even in their worse moments they always return to a smile. NCIS and their BIG hearts!   

From: Tumbler.com/NCIS 

 

(Photo by: lizznotliz)

Mark Harmon is sitting at a table in the vintage Airstream trailer he keeps parked outside the NCIS soundstages, talking about the father-daughter chemistry he’s developing with Cote de Pablo on the show. Suddenly – speak of the Chilean-Israeli devil! – the actress walks by, singing NCIS:LA star LL Cool J’s “Going Back To Cali.” Then she bolts. “Hey, Cotes!” yells Harmon. “Come back, you big chicken!”

…”I started it – sort of,” de Pablo laughs. “But I threw one tiny raspberry with a little bit of cream on it, and I got my face pushed into the cake! People at the photoshoot were like, ‘Oh, my God, we can’t believe Mark did that!’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That is so Mark.’ He’s a total pro, and a total goofball. Mark is the No. 1 prankster. Most people would never think he is.”

Night before last I left my blind pulled up just about a foot as I needed to be up early and I tend to rise with the sun.  As I laid in bed I looked out through my plants at the faint light that silhouetted them from the window beyond and fell to sleep in heaven.

I have been meeting a few men from dating sites. Although I doubt anything will come from any of the meetings, I have truly enjoyed each and every one of the men I have met. All of them have brought a smile to my face, their company bringing happiness and hope.

Dragon is safe, my little Betta fish, Connor, is safe.

Dear friends of mine from Arizona gave me a beautiful ornamental rug.  It has made itself very comfortable here in my room sprawled across the floor and brings certain pleasure every time I look at it. In fact my room brings pleasure every time I gaze around it or enter into it.  I really feel at home here.

The past two years has really taken a toll on my physical fitness.  Then I wake up to have fallen into a haven for fitness in Silverton. We walk everywhere even if it is only a block or two to anywhere you’d want to go in town. Yet the mountains and valley we live in opens up hiking, mountain biking, snow boarding, skiing, snow showing, climbing etc  opportunities on every level.  I have befriended a woman here who runs the fitness center in town called the Silverton Movement Center.  We trade out for massage regularly and now I am helping her build a new website ( it should be up in a few weeks), in trade for Pilates and Kettle Bell training. My knee is still rehabbing but I am so close to getting my fitness back I can taste it.  Did I say I fell into heaven?  I can say with all of my heart that I am genuinely thankful for Maryanne Garvin.

Remember all my bantering about SNOW.  I am finding that I love it. Of course I’m not out in it breaking ice for horse water, or mucking mud from snow melts off my horses, or prying ice balls from their hooves, so that dread is non existent. I just play in it.  The white around me is healing and inspiring.

I’m writing my Thankful Thursday today because on this Thursday coming up I will be with my kids helping to make Thanksgiving everything it is meant to be. This is what I live for. Holidays and moments of gathering with my kids Heather and Malcolm, the rest of their family, Cindy and Bill, Geordy and his kids. The family friends, Chris and Penny, Kyle and Audrey,  and others who may stop in.

I have made up my mind I am going to cut the links to all THE PONY EXPRESSION blog posts except for my Thankful Thursdays.  Having gratitude is where my heart is, everything else was visited experiences along the path to this place of thankfulness in which I now reside. In passing through adversity we find our true character, our true peace and happiness.  I have been thinking that I may start addressing issues through daily Memmes. Thankful Thursday - Spiritual Sunday (Or maybe Red Road Monday), – Wordless Wednesday - Simple Saturday, or something to that affect, as long as its positive and open hearted.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May everyday be a day of gratitude!  That’s my hope for all of you.  Make it mean something!!

Time for tea…

Visit Akal Ranch, Tire Dog Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch , From The Horses Back for more Gratitude

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Using myself (my life’s experience) as a measure of how to obtain balance and breath in happiness every day including fulfillment in the life being lived, the secret I believe is in simplicity.  Also humility, lack of greed, stayed pride (checking ones pride into submission), along with a conscience effort to be gentle. Not just being gentle to each other and not just to the world at large, but specifically to Mother. Allowing good judgement to over-ride poor judgement.   

Many times poor judgement is powered by “I want it to be – So I’ll make it be”.  An absolute walk down the Black Path. Bolstered by ” I can make it be so if I try hard enough”.  Not that having goals, dreams and desires is bad. They are not and we should strive toward making them come true.   True?  That is the pivotal point of this discussion.  What is true for the Black Road is an illusion. We never see it coming until it hits us usually knocking us down changing everything as we know it.  We worked so hard for it too.  For most Walking The Red Road means giving up the illusion of what we think we want.  With that sacrifice comes peace creating genuine fulfillment. With it the Red Road appears luminous before us.

My estimation of the Red Road or the correct Path to walk is many things:

1) we choose to walk it.

2) we were born to walk it.

3) we were forced upon it.

Explanation: We choose to make correct decisions based on living a humble and simple life choosing to be stewards of Mother and each other and all creatures.  It is believed that he Red Road is our destiny. That we were born to walk it and that we many times fall off of it.  This I believe is true. Many times we walk paths that we believe we are meant to walk only find that they come to an abrupt cliff edge leaving us teetering or falling into the depths. Why? Because those Paths were only meant to prepare us for the true Red Road. Sometimes we find ourselves walking Paths we did not choose for ourselves and again they end abruptly at some point  forcing us to finally make a choice against opposing forces striving to make that choice for us. Bottom line is we have choices…

A message from “Republic of Lakotah”

The RED ROAD vs The Black Road

There are many roads in life, but there are two that are important; the Red Road and the Black Road. They represent good and bad in every one’s life. It’s the two choices people have to make frequently in life. The Red Road is the good way, the good side, and the right choice. It is a road that is difficult with dangers and obstacles that are hard to travel on. The Black Road is the bad way, the bad side, and the wrong choice. The Black Road is wide and easy to travel. The Red Road and the Black Road appear in our lives not as roads but as the personifications of right and wrong, good and bad, light and dark.

The Lakota never were known to accumulate material goods. It was never done in pursuit of wealth; it was done to get around hard times or to help someone who ran short. Generosity has its rewards. The lack of it has its consequences. It was not practical for a nomadic people to accumulate too much because it only meant more to haul when the camp moved, which could be up to three or four times a year. The more you owned, the more you hauled. 

Truth is the marker along the roads we travel in life. The Red Road has many markers. If you choose the Black Road, there is only the illusion of truth. We can be influenced by the truth or by illusion. Sometimes truth is like the wind.  You cannot see it, but you can see the effect it has. Truth is also like the sunrise and sunset. We see the sun come up over the eastern horizon in the morning and then disappear behind the western horizon in the evening.  From the perspective of our existence on a spinning globe, the sun appears to “rise” and “set.” In reality the sun does neither. Living a humble and giving life keeps one on the path of the Red Road…

Continued here

Something to think about.  How we live our lives and the consequences of those choices and of those lives lived.

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AHO

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I’m back at it.  Well sort of.  I plan to post Thankful Thursday somewhat regularly.  As many will notice I have changed the look of the blog. I have removed many links and may remove more yet.  For the time being the old posts and categories will remain, however THE PONY EXPRESSION will be dedicated to gratitude, messages from the Red Road and White Medicine.  The subjects may cover sustainability,  horses, family, life in Silverton, friendships, travels, locavore, and more.  Foremost though White Medicine will be our guide.

Some of you may question why Medicine Bear ( the horse) has been incorporated into the header of  THE PONY EXPRESSION?  Here is my explanation  Those of you who have followed my horse life for the past two years will understand.  Medicine Bear changed my life, turning  it upside down. He caused the innitial injury to Kindlewood that ultimately brought her life to an untimely end.  There was deceit involved with the acquisition of Medicine Bear.  He damaged my property.  He cost me a great deal of my financial reserves. On the other side of the scale he taught me about a higher intelligence, he was a symbol of the Old Iberian breed-type now gone extinct.  Medicine Bear changed my outlook on the Spanish Mustang, Spanish Colonial, Spanish Barb orwhat have you breed. He was not a purebred. He was a magnificent horse.  He changed my life utterly through his presence.  If it were not for Medicine Bear I would not be living in Silverton, I would not be experiencing the wonders of this country called Colorado, United States of America. 

A rainbow back in the canyon taken from Heather and Malcolms back yard.

His medicine shattered the past and left only one path to walk down.  The path to the future.  My life is happy, serene, peaceful. I feel fulfilled. I have met wonderful people, have left wonderful people behind.  There is a soft warm kindness to my life now.

This is my Thankful Thursday. I am thankful that Medicine Bear  brought White Medicine into my life, cleansing it of the past no matter how painful or how futile or senseless the process was. His presence in my life thrust me into this new magical place called Silverton.  Watch out for Powerful Medicine, you’ll never know from where it will come or where it will send you.

For me it has come in the form of a  horse named Medicine Bear, Silverton’s Mountains, and Thunder. 

The Grenadiers snowcapped during what we call “The Colors” or falls turning of the leaves.

Sultan Mountain with Silverton nestled sleepily at its feet.

It has cleansed my spirit, opened my eyes and ultimately brought utter peace and joy to my heart.

Thank you for this gift of White Medicine.

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Hi Folks!

Been awhile…  I am trying to decide whether to continue this blog or to begin a new one. The idea is to concentrate only on Thankful Thursday. I believe many subjects are covered by natural law within a Thankful Thursday post.  One post weekly or even monthly is about all I’ll be able to muster.  If anyone would like to share their thoughts on this please comment.  I’ll consider your ideas.

Thanks for your continued visits to THE PONY EXPRESSION

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