Brianne

“There will be ribbons in a range of colors with placings noted and records kept. Ribbons aren’t worth much more than that; they’re only a symbol. It’s your partnership that mattered. That the two of you spent weekends challenging yourselves to improve, always competing against your last show, and balancing winning and losing into a place of faith and trust. That the two of you built a special relationship that made a difference, if not in the huge world, certainly in your own hearts. You persevered through joy and pain, thrill and dread, and in the end, there was a place that the two of your shared. Ribbons say it was worth celebrating. In a world where horses struggle, suffer, and die for the whims of humans, it says that you saw past the surface and shared breath and heart with another soul. You lifted your eyes higher.”
― Anna Blake, Relaxed & Forward: Relationship Advice from Your Horse

“Whenever I start to doubt if I’m worth the eternal trouble of medication and therapy, I remember those people who let the fog win. And I push myself to stay healthy. I remind myself that I’m not fighting against me … I’m fighting against a chemical imbalance … a tangible thing. I remind myself of the cunning untrustworthiness of the brain, both in the mentally ill and in the mentally stable.”
― Jenny Lawson

“I know that God loves you. And that He’s not interested in obeying your plans. He’s interested in giving you the best. And all you need to do is believe that. When you know God loves you, then faith is simply the expectation that God will show up, that love in hand.”
― Susan May Warren, Where There's Smoke

“So a rider might continue to take lessons, not from an inability to learn, but a desire to improve, fueled by respect for an equine partner. Riding is sometimes like interpretive dance, creative and spontaneous.”
― Anna Blake, Relaxed & Forward: Relationship Advice from Your Horse