Sundance Trail Guest Ranch Red Feather Lakes , Colorado www . SundanceTrail . com cdgra @ sundancetrail . com
And that is the first “ P ” that doesn ’ t have any place on a ranch .
Pride is the tower upon which we climb only to reach the top and wait for someone to push us off . We scream our threats and voice our displeasure for however long it takes to hit the ground . Somehow we feel satisfied with our prideful outburst as we plummet towards our death .
My pride is that I get my feelings hurt easily . What hurts double is when I realize that the very thing that I got my feelings hurt over is the very thing that I knew I did to someone else not 24 hours earlier . That ’ s why I ’ d asked God that morning to help me with my pride .
Pride , whether in the low self-esteem form , or the high self-esteem form , is the cause of more problems people have than any other . You get mad easy ? Pride . You get hurt easily ? Pride . You think it has to be your way ? Pride . No matter how you cut it , it is pride .
The next thing that needs to be left at the gate of our ranches , homes , business , and anywhere else we might travel is the need for perfection . Perfection is the love child of pride and the need for control . It amazes me how well we can justify our need for perfection when it can never be found in anything we do . As a matter of fact , perfection has the opposite effect of what is intended . The need for perfection can ruin a great job . It can ruin relationships . It can ruin lives .
It is like the Midas touch , but instead of gold , it turns things to ruin .
I somehow expect my actions to always be perfect . I try very hard to do the right thing , but very once in a while , I jig when I should ’ ve jagged . No one can get everything right and to seek perfection instead of humbly understanding that you can ’ t be perfect is the thing that steals our happiness , performance , and willingness to grow .
The last “ P ” is impatience .
I know , that starts with “ I ”. But the fact that it needs to be left out of the pen , the pasture , the stall , the living room , and the bedroom still remains .
If perfection is the love child of pride and control , then impatience would be the result of an incestuous relationship between the need for control and the intoxication of control .
Impatience is the wart on the nose of success . Despite all we accomplish ; in light of all our labor ; there is that one wart that will draw all the attention and diminish all the other beauty we make .
When we are impatient with others or impatient with ourselves , it does nothing except take away . Impatience is like multiplying by 0 . No matter what else you put with it , anything multiplied by zero is still zero .
To recap : The only one to blame is me . My pride is the only feeling that can be hurt . My own need for perfection in the pen and the pulpit dims what God has done through my imperfection . And lastly , my impatience with my own growth is a smear on the beauty that God has once again worked in a cowboy that still has high hopes in a low holler … in a faraway pasture .
Live in harmony with one another . Do not be haughty , but associate with the lowly . Never be wise in your own sight . Romans 12:16
Dude Ranch Directory
Sundance Trail Guest Ranch Red Feather Lakes , Colorado www . SundanceTrail . com cdgra @ sundancetrail . com
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