Palomino Advising

I've always loved horses but that love is not the reason I decided on Palomino Advising for a consulting business. Well, not the only reason.

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Upon a mindfulness exercise to find a business name that spoke to many aspects of me all at once, my psyche brought to mind a sequence of words; "wind," "breeze," "freedom," and - after a brief pause, -"gallop." I immediately knew, while it seemed peculiar to me at first (considering the nature of my business model) that my business name would include something about horses. Upon this revelation, I was "reminded" of a story I had "written" when I was about fifteen years old titled, "The Alston Ranch."

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I used quotations because the story my psyche "remembered" me writing all those years ago wasn't the actual story I had written! I didn't discover that fact until, much to my surprise, I pulled out my keepsake box and found "The Alston Ranch" lacking all details, save one, that my psyche "remembered." I was left dumbfounded.

 

Here's what happened: Directly after completing the mindfulness exercise, I sat down to write this section. My psyche was so set on "The Alston Ranch" depicting my life events through the main character, and a horse named Palomino, that the words flowed out of me in just a few minutes. Upon proof reading the section I found little needed correction. So, I celebrated and resolved to find the original story to post to my blog later. I thought, "It will be a perfect first post." You can imagine what a loss I felt when I read the actual story!

 

At first the experience left me feeling I had acted outside of my core integrity and lied somehow. Quickly, though, I realized that I needed to be more gentle with myself. Afterall, I didn't consciously know I hadn't written the story the way my mind had "remembered." Upon this self-care, I realized that what had initially flowed out of me so effortlessly wasn't of me at all. It came from the Spirit. I knew it was revelation; beautiful instruction just for me. It will forever remain a glorious tender mercy. 

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As I read the actual version of "The Alston Ranch" that I had written at fifteen, I was reminded of the great beauty there is in taking a reader on a journey and that cathartic expression, through literary means, is incredibly liberating. I understood, more than I could have comprehended at fifteen, that writing the fictional tale, which was rooted in actual events of my life, enabled me the freedom to emotionally process events my twelve year old self was never afforded, yet so desperately needed. It was truly a pivotal experience for me so long ago. ​

 

This is all to say that the reminder of such a consequential literary piece during my search for a business name, along with the "trick" my psyche pulled on me, felt less than coincidental - especially considering I would be advising others in work similar to it. So, I continued my introspective search and I settled on my most favorite color of horse - palomino.