truth four.

Written by: Candi Cylar

Several years ago, I told myself that I would push past my comfort zone and do things that were unconformable for me.   I started with simple things that I just never had to do, like go see a movie by myself.  I am terribly afraid of heights, but I’ve walked across an open bridge with tears in my eyes.  And there was riding a horse.  This was a little intimidating even to trust myself to balance one leg to climb on a horse. 

Each time I ride a horse I must remember why I am doing it, and each time there has been a different push behind my why.  When I recently rode along the beach, it was on my maternal grandmother’s birthday.  I woke up that day with tears joy and sadness in my eyes.  I remembered a story my grandmother used to tell me about her granddaddy coming to see them when she was a kid.  She said he was “blaaaack as a thousand midnights and rode a white horse.”  (For some reason I envisioned him in a white suit with a white cowboy hat.)  When he would arrive, the horse would jump up on their door and do a little knock and they would all come running because they knew it was their granddaddy. 

Those memories flooded my heart as I rode a big horse named Cookie Monster.  Cookie Monster was kind to me, strong-willed yet kind and I made it through the hour-long ride.  I admired the early morning view of the beach.  The adrenaline rush, the joy, and the peace I found during that ride was simply, amazing.   What if I had not taken a chance on myself in that moment?  What encounter would I never experience?

Along this journey, in our day-to-day routines, we must push past the uncomfortable moments.  On your self-care journey, what is holding you back?  What is holding you back from experiencing some new in your life?  What is the one thing holding you back from changing your eating habits so that you feel like your best self?  What is the one thing that is holding you back from becoming heart healthy?