Barn Musings

Welcome to Barn Musings. These weekly newsletters aim to provide you with timely, inspiring, and useful
reflections and findings from Meet Me At The Barn. I promise to keep the content brief and brilliant. The ultimate
goal is to create a community forum that is supportive, imaginative, and focused on possibility. Here we go!

Listen to Andy Hedges Cowboy Crossroads Podcast

Cowboy Crossroads is a refreshingly diplomatic attempt to connect today’s vibrant cowboy culture with a world only vaguely aware of its existence.  The Cowboy Crossroads episodes are about 30-minutes long featuring a special guest, usually a cowboy poet or singer-songwriter. What I love about Andy’s podcast is that he basically starts the conversation and lets the guests take it where they want. There is no agenda. Cowboy Crossroads is a big, juicy slice of Americana.  I was listening to Andy’s guest, Joel Nelson not long ago and in a time span of about 20 seconds I laughed out loud, cried, and fell in love with this ole’ cowboy.  If you are looking for a change of pace this is it.  Authenticity at its finest.

Get your journal. Yes, right now.  Sit down and answer these two question:

What are you most proud of in your life?

I have read far too many articles lately that describe how unhappy people are with their lives.  Not only is this troubling to me, but it is also sad.  The epidemic of unhappiness has reached all-time highs when we live in a society that has access to almost anything it desires at the press of a button.  I would argue that the ‘every-ready’ nature of the modern-day world is part of the challenge.

So, I challenge you:  put your phone down, turn off the TV and any other digital distractions, grab your pen and start writing about what you are most proud of in YOUR life.  Do not compare yourself to others.  Trust me, things are not always as they appear on the ‘outside’ or on social media.  This is you, looking at you.  This is you being proud of you.  GO!

Magical = be pleasant and delightful.

Trust me, if you spend this week ‘being’ magical your whole life can change.  Be pleasant in your encounters.  Act as if all that you desire has already happened. Be a vessel that is welcoming of all possibility.

The “Be” This: words come from the “Be”- Attitudes Kit™. I created the kit a few years ago to assist people in carving out quiet time for themselves and to set the tone for their day. You can learn more about the kit here.

“The truth is:  Belonging starts with self-acceptance.  Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect.”
— Brene Brown

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Stay true and be you —

Annie