Sometimes, life has a way of taking off like a runaway train gaining speed while careening downhill to an unknown stopping place sometimes called a crash.

After embracing a “Year of Yes” (pretty much saying yes to anything and everything life offers up), I’m now experiencing my summer of “Oh No.” Apparently, there’s a tipping point for everything, an immutable law of science to remind us when enough is enough. The proverbial straw on the camel’s back.

The signs became pretty obvious to me that things had to change. I mailed a card and forgot the postage. I searched for car keys for 20 minutes, oblivious to the fact they were on the hook where I keep them. I missed deadlines for bills, birthdays and writing.

It was time for the emergency brakes.

One of my almost daily tasks is to bring vegetable trimmings from a local restaurant to a lovely little farm sanctuary just blocks from downtown Sisters. Driving buckets of food scraps to a farm full of hungry animals makes you the popular kid. Once the initial excitement over the arrival of fresh food subsides, the barnyard always returns to its peaceful pace exuding a sense of calm that is challenging to find in our accelerated world.

Standing for a moment stroking the nose of a horse helped me recognize how out of balance my life had become. The horse took a deep breath followed by an easygoing sigh as chickens clucked their own delight in the background. I could almost hear the steam whistle of my out-of-control train interrupt the peace and quiet of the sanctuary.

Animals have a way of remaining in the moment. They seem content most of the time. They don’t get ahead of themselves with their thoughts, worrying about what tomorrow may or may not bring, and they don’t seem to dwell in the past, even though some of them have experienced pain or neglect.

The love that abides at this rescue ranch is palpable. The volunteers give freely of their time to feed and care for these creatures who now have a forever home to call their own. In a beautiful exchange of devotion, the animals give back by simply doing what they do, being who they are and reminding all of us that we can be still and find peace.

So as I gently place each railcar into a siding for now, determined to come back for each of them when time becomes more available, I settle into that serene place in my own mind free of monkeys on my back, camels with too much straw and freight trains with too many cars. One by one I complete or let go of that which I’ve taken on.

There are still some commitments looming ahead in the days to come, but by lightening the load a little each day, the burdens lift and the to-do list seems achievable. A steady pace returns to life and the regular clickety-clack down the tracks is a downright soothing sound if I do say so myself.

— Sana Hayes is a free spirit, as comfortable in a tiara as she is in pajamas. She writes to better encounter the radiant self in each of us. Contact her at cowgirlsana@gmail.com.