Change is inevitable. But now it is imperative. It’s easy to be resistant to change because it is uncomfortable. It’s full of unknowns. It requires taking steps forward without knowing how to do it. Not knowing the solutions, the answers, or how it will look and feel on the other side.

Change causes unanticipated pushes and pulls like the always changing tide coming in and going out, changing the shape of the shore.

Long gone are the shores of stability. Gone are the days of a steady career path, easy relationships, ‘knowing where you are going’, and ‘living simply,’ even though we aspire to the ‘what it used to be’ when things seemed normal.

Wherever you turn, there is an opportunity to stand for something you care about, whether it is your health, your dignity, an ethic of community, or of what it means to be an integrous person.

There is a lot more to unpack here, but for now I want to share that we had a powerful, life changing Leadership & Horses™ class at Casari Ranch, Santa Rosa this July. Our participants let go of limiting self beliefs, abusive patterns of shame from others, and started a new path of freedom to express themselves wholeheartedly, with love and kindness, compassion and strength.

How did this happen? The horses! The horses were magical, refreshing each of our spirits, filling our hearts with newfound strength, patiently grounding us to the earth so we could listen to our intuitive wisdom, waiting to be heard, in the sinews of our being. Day by day, we sloughed off our humanness to become 'more like a horse'. Thank you to our staff and participants who supported each other, being real in their journey and thus creating a collective unity that allowed the horses to be themselves and each of us to be ourselves without apology or shame. And, was always I am eternally grateful to the horses for changing my shape, my life and my possibilities so I can hold the space for others to do the same.-Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi, July 2024