What is the meaning to life?
Depending on whom you ask, you will get a ton of different answers. I believe it’s making a difference in others life, and somehow horses have a way of doing that without even trying. Many times without any of us realizing they are doing it.
Purpose. It is something so many are looking for… Their “gift”, their “meaning”, their “thing”.
It’s something that may come easy for some, but others may spend their whole life searching for it. In the horse world, it is something that can be forever changing throughout your career.
So what happens when you have it all figured out, you finally found your “thing”, an event comes into your life that changes it forever… Whether it be children, a job, a divorce, life change, maybe an accident, or just age… And all of a sudden, you may be not able to do that one thing you feel you were put here to do.
You can grieve a while. The person you were, the life you had, the things you used to do. It’s okay to be sad, to feel sorry for yourself, a bit… But then… You need to start again!
Life isn’t meant to be spent wishing for your yesterday’s or thinking of all you were, or could have been. It changes, and with it, so should you.
You can restart. You CAN find that same love and passion you had, but maybe in a different way. And you can still find that feeling of purpose.
An end of an era is not an end… It’s the beginning of a new era. One you get to decide, like creating your own adventure book. Don’t just give up because the “end” looks different than you thought… You haven’t reached the end yet.
So… Volunteer, take lessons in a whole different area than you have ever known, reach out and help someone who may never encounter a horse if not for you, go trail riding, visit different barns and learn new things without thinking you know it all, but most of all… Find a way to use all you have to offer to change another’s life. You will find it changes yours in the process. And maybe… If you are lucky… You will find your purpose. Or it will find you.
