Passing on Forgiveness

Each week I spend time thinking of horseback activities that would enable the lessons of courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion to "ring true" to the Farming For Resilience participants. I love spending time like this; thinking of games. I do it for the horses I train all the time, now I have the great privilege of doing it for humans. Games keep horses and humans engaged and thinking "outside the box".

We are on the tail end of our Farming For Resilience Forgiveness module. This week I have decided to play a team building, fun and thought provoking game of "Passing on Forgiveness". Jumping off the idea of a relay race, each student group (4-6 kids all on horseback) will think of a lesson learned about forgiveness that they might like to pass on to others. We will write this on paper, roll it up with a ribbon around it. The group with then go through a course of simple exercises they have been practicing, passing on their lesson of forgiveness to the next student on horseback, who will continue the course. Each group will then discuss the feeling of passing on forgiveness on horseback. As many of us know, forgiveness is a hard subject. And a very important one. Take a moment as you read this and think of a lesson you have learned through forgiveness. How would you like to pass on that lesson of forgiveness to others? "Forgiveness gives us freedom" - may be a lesson to pass on. Or, "Forgiving allows us to leave pain behind." Or, "It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." Maya Angelou sent that message of forgiveness to us. Or, and we all know Martin Luther King, Jr wanted to pass this on: "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love." Enjoy spreading your own forgiveness as you walk through this week. All my best, ​Christina