8.2.25
My daughter is out of town, so I had some quiet time and got to spend part of my day with Chevy. I like to call it “horse therapy.” There’s something incredibly grounding about being outside with the horses—their calm presence, the open space, the stillness. It gives me room to breathe, to think, and just be.
Today is also my little brother’s 43rd birthday. I called to wish him a happy birthday, and like he always does, he asked how I was doing. He never fails to check in, to offer help, and it’s never just words—I can hear the sincerity and love in his voice. Even on his birthday, his instinct is to care for someone else. That kind of consistent support means more to me than I can easily put into words.
Later I went to a speaker meeting, and I really connected with parts of her story. She talked about learning to live in the present—and that hit home. So often, my mind drifts to the past: the things I wish I’d done differently, words I wish I hadn’t said, choices I wish I could undo. Or it races into the future, trying to predict outcomes, worrying about what might come next, and imagining worst-case scenarios that haven’t even happened.
But when I’m present—truly present—I realize that the past doesn’t own me anymore, and the future doesn’t need to scare me. I can’t change what’s behind me, and I don’t need to control what’s ahead. My Higher Power has that covered. What I can do is show up for myself today.
The speaker also shared about a time in her life when her son had moved out and her husband had passed, and she found herself alone, learning who she really was. I feel like that’s the season I’m in now. I’m getting to know myself in a way I never did before—not the version of me shaped by others’ expectations, or the one driven by fear or shame, but the real me. The one I numbed for so long.
Sometimes that process feels slow, even uncertain. But it doesn’t have to happen all at once. I remind myself there’s no deadline for self-discovery. When I stay out of the past and stop fast-forwarding into the future, I find peace. Right here, in this moment, I have everything I need to keep learning, growing, and becoming more of who I really am.
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