June began with the last day of our most recent Leadership & Horses™ program. In the heat of the early summer sun, in the dust and among the SkyHorse herd, we were reminded of the duality between authenticity and displaced blame and judgment. The horses showed us when we were a collective unity—when we were each being our authentic selves without judgment or shame. They also showed us when unspoken judgments were in the energetic field. It was awkward, it was messy, and it was real.

Like a mirror of what is happening in the bigger arena of our lives, the horses were unsentimentally precise and unapologetically clear. They no longer wanted to connect with our human group. We were no longer safe to be around.

I kept thinking of the ballad of love and hate, the tyranny of “us and them,” the part of being human I dislike the most. At the heart of SkyHorse Academy is an invitation to unlearn shame and blame. Time with our horses is an opportunity to let go of our moral, judgmental habits that make us forget that we are the directors of our own lives. We are each born with the right to choose who we want to be in this one wild life.

To choose to be free in heart, in mind, and in spirit is not an easy task. It’s about honoring each other’s uniqueness. It’s about allowing each person to find their authentic expression. It’s not about blaming others or shaming others. It’s not about who is right and who is wrong.

The horses remind us—they insist—we learn the fundamental lesson of these times: we are a network of energetic beings. Leadership, at its core, is about relationship.

Is your herd energetically aligned?
What kind of energy do you want to contribute to the people you love?
What kind of energy do you want to contribute to the people you don’t?