Goat Walkabouts

Hello friends! I’d like to remind our volunteers that we are moving today’s scheduled clean up date to October 19th!

We appreciate everyone’s involvement and commitment to participate in the new date.

Btw the goats are settling in at the new sanctuary! Come say hello sometime soon!

Can anyone give me a jump at SFR in Brighton please??

Good morning friends.

I’m grateful for the struggle and the support equally. My focus today is loading up the panels into the horse trailer. I couldn’t do it yesterday because my back needed rest.

I need to share a few things and they aren’t complaints as much as information. I’m grateful. I’m just not 100% physically. I’m writing this to let friends who care and follow this program know my condition. You need to know that I’m out here performing dangerous work and I’m physically disabled. I had a handicap tag on my truck last year because I could barely walk. I can’t be too serious about my back issues among other things.

The back has been a major problem for many years. I have learned to manage a lot of my pain symptoms with meditation. I also use plant medicine but have needed to cut back significantly because of the lack of availability and I need a proper prescription in Arkansas. I take aspirin and breaks.

It’s not a problem if I can pace myself, rest my back and practice yoga. Not just asana but the entire technology. Breathing, meditation, devotion, asana and community.. all of it helps my pain symptoms.

I have to also watch what I eat. I eat my meals in cycles depending on what the body needs. I rarely eat fish unless the body absolutely needs it and only around certain moon cycles. There are many reasons surrounding my diet choices which I keep personal but some have to do with the body’s reactions towards certain foods. When I consume meat, I feel pain in my toes. I have gout and eating purines triggers this painful response. I avoid the pain by avoiding foods that create the symptoms.

I also have arthritis in my elbows from hard work. Mostly scything grass, using land clearing tools and working with goats. I have learned to manage my arthritis and remove some of the symptoms by practicing flow with a short staff. I twirl it like a baton and stretch the areas that are locked up. I push down with my thumb and focus on where the pain is coming from. After I work with it for a while it gets better.

The ground is uneven everywhere. Nothing is level so it’s easy to trip or become unbalanced. It’s all rock underneath and it’s undeveloped land that is full of insects that intentionally antagonize you, bite you. Some of them are so tiny, they latch on and they don’t let go!

My camp has flooded a couple times. Several things have gotten damaged or broken because of the water damage. I’ve had to pick up and reset the camp because of the water shed. Items mold, start to stink and eventually are no good.

I also can’t see! I had glasses but one set got lost in the lake and my other set is broken. Things fall apart eventually and I’ve had the glasses for a couple years. I have reading glasses and they work great for reading. There are other things I can’t see because I’m losing my vision. I’m not sure why but I think it’s just aging.

Regardless, I’m ready, I’m in practice, I’m sober, I’m present, I’m focused, I’m not afraid of pain, I’m not afraid of storms, I’m not affected by any of this tumultuous life because I’m conditioned to move through it without being phased. I look back at everything and this is actually peaceful despite the financial woes and the physical challenges.

I’m the only one performing these tasks for the org and preparing the space so I don’t have a choice but to keep my mind focused on my goal. We have Colorado community, volunteers, people rooting us on and now it’s just me speaking in Arkansas begging people for help.

I’m the person who’s been building this program for 10 years taking every single blow, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally and psychologically. Every guest complaint and every contract negotiation with everyone from vogue magazine, Kacey Musgraves, 5 star hotels, hundreds of assisted living and memory care centers and thousands of patients.

I am learning to surrender to equanimity and the temptation to submit to a negative thought dissipates through an active practice of dispassion. Thoughts are just thoughts and they can be ignored. I think of the programs I have created and it’s easy to think people have just forgotten because I feel alone. They assume everything just came together magically over 10 years and maybe so but I created it in silence. Everyone enjoyed the activity I put together for them and the goats. I literally taught thousands of people yoga. I’m so grateful!!

I keep going and going no matter what. Goat camp is happening in Arkansas and I’m continuing in Colorado. I’ll be back once I’m finished building so I can build even more in my home state.

I’m at peace and have an internal equanimity that is unshaken. This isn’t a pep talk. I’m simply observing my own behavior throughout many cycles of suffering. I’m putting this out there for friends and foes alike. I have developed this indifference to suffering and pain. To gossip, humiliation and to back biting. To estrangement or even the fear of being alone. Envy and ugly looks. Praise and glory or whatever it looks like to you.

I’m here for my herd. Period. My body is an instrument of service for them! That’s why I’m ignoring the suffering and the tumult because I love my animals and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to build them a sweet sanctuary.

I don’t want to be mean or to hurt anyone along the way. I have had a great example of who to look towards when it comes to sacrifice and how we are to treat friends. These goats are some of my best friends so naturally I’m here for them.

I appreciate the support from everyone who cares about the herd and supports this mission!

Jim

Hello friends!

I moved 2 tons of steel fencing yesterday by myself on uneven and rocky terrain to the new property. I have one more ton to move to the new property and then i assemble it. This isn’t easy work at all!

My back is killing me today and I’m blind as a bat. We still desperately need funding to move the herd. There’s so much to get discouraged, agitated and anxious over but I’m here, I’m present, I’m breathing, I’m at peace, I’m centered and I’m ready for anything. I have faith.

I have a few tools up for sale that I don’t truly want to sell because we could use them at the new property. I’m not sure what else to do at the moment but I need to get this herd moved ASAP. I’m willing to part with things that aren’t bringing us closer to the short term goal. Liquidating only makes sense as funding is scarce. I don’t like thinking this way. I’m so grateful for the peace I have and I’m so abundant in many ways. It’s the herd that I’m concerned over. I know if I had them here with my tools I could generate revenue.

$500 was donated yesterday! I’m grateful! Which I’m so appreciative of! It’s not enough to move the herd though.. I’d be caught in the middle but it’s a hopeful start!! Let’s keep praying that flow keeps going.

We have the trucks and trailers, we have the gear. We need $ for fuel. Fuel is not cheap for a diesel truck but the truck pulls the weight. Once I get it here, it’ll be for local mission work. Half our gear and the land is here but the herd it’s meant for is in Brighton.

The gas truck gets better mileage and cost less but can’t pull the weight the diesel can. One is a daily runner and the other is a transporter meant to pull a trailer with goats.

We need the gear we have for the new sanctuary. The goats deserve this new home but we need fuel for both trucks and trailers from Colorado to Arkansas.

If you can help us out, this is my outcry. I’ve asked and asked but the reality is that goats deserve a stable home. This isn’t for me! Trust me I don’t have to suffer like this. I just want these goats to have a great retirement. THEY DESERVE IT!!

We’ve been boarding from here to there for 10 years having fun in the Colorado community. Time to slow down and give the herd a place to settle down.

Either way we’ve found a great home and it’s ready. Let’s work together to get them relocated ASAP. 🙏

Blessings

Jim