BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

My daughter's book club meets in a few nights, and they want some suggestions of possible good reads.

So I went back over my amazon.com orders for the past several years specifically to find some promising book titles from my own book club's selections.

And instead got horribly distracted by all the crap I have ordered at various times.

I have spent a stupid amount of money on worthless things - fly fringes that come to the tops of my horses' eyes (i.e. absolutely no good) - saddle hangers that I have never hung (my saddles still sit aloft a regular paint ladder) - fly sprays that provided a good smell but completely useless in repelling any type of insect.

I must admit to buying multiple of the same book and/or DVD - I think I've been through three copies of both seasons of the BBC Sherlock. The books mainly because I give away the copy I have - "Here, you must read this!", and the DVDs because I literally wear them out.

Although I have yet to succumb to one of the 2 a.m. television commercials for those "Order Within The Next Ten Minutes, And We'll Include A Special Bonus Item!", I must admit I am a sucker for ANYthing that will hasten or eliminate household chores. So I own two vacuums, numerous brushes/brooms, glass cleaners or special sprays.

They don't do the actual work for you, they are just tools, so useless.

And books? The majority of books my own book club has been through aren't ones I'd possibly recommend, with a few notable exceptions... yes, ones that I myself advanced as worthy of reading.

STEPPING UP TO THE ABYSS

What is fear?

Webster tags it as "A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined..."

My favorite acronym is F.E.A.R. - standing for "False Expectations Appearing Real."

Because very, VERY few of our fears are "real" because usually the threat is only in our minds.

We are scared because of something the could happen - we are afraid of what people might think - we fear possibilities, not realities.



I, however, do have one very legitimate fear.

It's being injured by a 1,200 lb. animal.

I have been hurt before, by this particular animal and other horses in general. I've been thrown, stomped on, knocked over, bitten, kicked and head-butted. I've had stitches, extended hospital stays, lots of bruises, and more than my share of pain and achiness (did I just invent that word?).

So just a smidgen of my fear may feel legitimate.

But I also know horses very well - in particular the one I own myself - and am fairly confident of my ability to boss them around and AVOID the aforementioned injuries.

So today, fighting some of these aforementioned emotions, I took this one animal and spent some time working with him alone in a separate location.

And wasn't hurt in the slightest.