My Transformative Journey: Becoming a True Cowgirl in the Mountains of Idaho – Part 4

In case you didn’t know, I’m on a quest to become a Cowgirl! Not like a fun and games, dress-up cowgirl, but a fierce woman who rides horseback with confidence through the mountains of Idaho herding cows from one destination to the next with ease and grace.

It’s been a part of my dreams since I witnessed Chyenne Smith wrangling cows on the peaks of the mountains on our family’s ranch in Idaho. She is such a badass and ignited a flame in me that connected me even deeper to my family roots.

My great uncle Norby was a cowboy out in Idaho. But by the time I started to understand what that meant, he had retired his saddle. And now that he’s gone from this realm, Chyenne is making my cowgirl dreams a reality.

After over a year of the pandemic, my cowgirl lessons were delayed as I couldn’t travel from Baltimore, Maryland to Salmon, Idaho. While I still made massive strides in my riding and training skills at home, a piece of my heart ached in a way that can only be filled by the mountains of Idaho.

It was divine intervention that we made it out there.

You see, my book Permission to Be Human: The Conscious Leader’s Guide to Creating a Values-Driven Culture was slated to come out in June, and I had my first in-person keynote for the book scheduled in Wyoming a few weeks after. I was bummed because I would be so darn close to Idaho but knew I couldn’t treat my book launch process with the attention it needed if I went off the grid during that prime time.

As fate would have it, the book was delayed a month. Which in turn created an opening for James and me to head from Wyoming to Montana to Idaho with ease and grace. We got 10 days completely off the grid (no tv, cell, or internet) before the big ramp up for birthing my book. It couldn’t have been more perfect and was exactly as it was meant to be.

When we pulled up to the house after the near half-hour-long drive up the driveway to get to the top of the mountains of my great Uncle’s ranch, now being run by my mom, my heart was full. The warmth of a summer breeze wafted the smells of wild sagebrush and the sounds of the birds and ground squirrels wrapped my soul in a cocoon of love and possibility.

As the days went on, disconnected from technology, I reconnected to my humanity. And I gave myself complete permission to just be. For the first time in my history there, I did not work on anything professionally other than nurturing my heart and soul. Being grounded in the abundance that exists now and the vision of our future retreat boutique center out in those very mountains.

After I shed the first few layers of my career-based routine, it was time to fill up with Chyenne and her family’s love.

Every time Chy sees me for the first time on my visits, she says, “Welcome Home!” and I just melt into her arms. I am home there in a way that no other place will ever compare.

Upon her first visit, she brought 4 horses up to our property to look for cattle. And this time, James got to join me for his first ride on our ranch. It was everything and more. The only downside was that it wasn’t long enough! But, as she always does, Chy had another plan in store later in the week.

She had invited 2 other cowgirls to join her in moving cattle from one creek to another – which just so happened to cross over our property line, in the same spot that I first witnessed Chyenne in her cowgirl badassery.

She put me in the mix and showed me how it’s done. I even made my first cowgirl calls using my voice to make “yips” and say “come on ladies” – like I actually knew what I was doing. It was over 100 degrees and I didn’t feel the heat because my heart was so damn happy. Every few minutes I’d throw my face up into the sun, take a deep breath and yell, THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!

It was more than I thought it would be and it’s just the beginning of this possibility in my life.

And it was even more special because Chyenne asked me to take my uncle’s saddle out of retirement. And for the first time, it felt like I was actually riding WITH my uncle. Like he was a part of my cowgirl journey in each step that Sparrow (the horse I was riding) took and his legacy was living on through me.

And wouldn’t you know that after most of the day (longest ride of my life!) going up and down mountains, I had never felt more comfortable. His saddle was the perfect fit in every way. I was proud. I was ready. And I was a vessel of light with my uncle’s blessing.

As incomparable as it may sound, these moments were just as profound for me as my book launch.

They were dreams that were made into reality with pure love attached to them.

And I KNOW that the reason these moments meant so much to me was that they are a pure reflection of my values of Unity with Nature, Connection, True Friendship, and Growth.

I KNOW how to make my dreams a reality by knowing, owning, and living my values every day.

And then there are days like this one where the alignment between my behaviors and action is so profound that I know exactly where I’m headed in life – one step at a time without judgment of pace.

 

Now that we’ve gotten the official blessing to build our tiny home on the property, I’m thrilled that my quest to become a cowgirl will soon be a full reality. 2022 will be the year we begin our official migration out west to be dual citizens of the city and mountainside.

This pandemic made us realize that enough is enough. No more “one day” just day one.

*To get the full story, check out My Quest to Become a Cowgirl part 1,  part 2 and part 3.

Photos were taken by me, Chyenne Smith, and Jed Fishmen.