Kristine E. Brickey

Wild Horses             Herds of wild horses once roamed the landscape, families traveling together, grazing in tall prairie grasses and seemingly barren deserts, moving at will, searching comfort and basic needs, protected by lead mare and stallion. Now, the descendants of those proud animals are rounded up, chased by helicopters overhead, jeeps and ATVs on the ground, locked in pens, and sent to their deaths by truck and train. Foals are wrenched from mares, sent to auctions and uncertain futures.             Wild horses are disappearing, because men want their land, because men claim the horses are destructive, so, therefore, are not welcome.              Today, caravans of immigrants, families traveling together, move one step at time, across harsh lands, escaping dangers, searching for better grazing land. Babies are wrenched from their mothers, sent to camps, separated, wounded in ways that will leave their hearts changed forever. These are people. They flee persecutio

     Self-doubt can be debilitating: that nagging tickle, the voice in my head whispering that I'm not good enough, that it's too good to be true, and worse, that the good times are not going to last.      For the past weeks, too many even for me to pinpoint, things have been good. In all honesty, good isn't even the right word. Many areas of my life have given me 'aha moments', powerful minutes that have me reflecting on my growth, reaching previous goals and setting my sights even higher.      Without going into much detail, a few examples:      Realizing during a handstand leg extension set that I was actually able to control my abs, that I had gained incredible strength since beginning my fitness journey.      Watching my horse's dark eyes calmly follow my movements inside the barn, trust and calm emanating as she chose to share space with me rather than stand alone.      Deciding to end my procrastination, and knocking out the outlining and beginning