Day 34: Sandra Sell-Lee
What do you do for a living?
Technically, I’m retired. I’m living on a fixed income – Social Security and benefits from a company I worked at. I’m very poor right now! I do have my own business, it’s called Equine Soul, but it’s not making me any money.
What do you do to feel alive?
I hang out with my two Golden Retrievers. I hang out with horses and herds of horses. I make my art. I’ve discovered soft pastels. I like to sit outside and eat outside – just being outside. I like to golf and do physical things. Mostly I just like to be in nature these days.
A lesson you learned from your mother:
It’s interesting, I don’t think I knew it at the time, but looking back I think mom lived in the present. She never looked into the future and control things she couldn’t control. She didn’t look back at things she might regret. I learned gardening from her – an appreciation for flowers, birds, fresh vegetables and living simply and being appreciative of what you have – not worrying about what you don’t have.
A lesson you learned from your father:
I guess I’d have to say unconditional love – that’s the last thing I learned from him just before he died. I also learned to be confident – and competent. That I could basically do anything if I set my mind to it. So if the lawnmower broke or the toaster broke I could learn how to fix it. From both my folks I learned an appreciation for craftsmanship. Mom was a master seamstress and dad was a master carpenter.
What’s the most beautiful thing you saw today?
The members of a group workshop I’m holding shared a beautiful moment with each other this morning.
What’s one thing you wouldn’t want anyone to take away from you?
My sense of eternal life.
What’s a thought you would like to never have again?
I would like to never see animals of any kind abused or suffer again.
If you could become an inanimate object what would it be?
A really special painting.
When do you feel most loved?
In all sorts of situations…with my Goldens. With horses. With my husband. With friends. In a natural setting. When authenticity become the norm. I would say being with people who are authentic and on a spiritual path. I feel love from God when something appears in my path that I didn’t think I wanted – I see it as a gift and it helps me move forward in my life and consciousness.
If your life were to end tomorrow what would be left undone?
I think in the state of life I’m in right now I’m feeling very complete and content. I don’t expect that forever, but that’s how I feel right now.
What global issue would you take on if you didn’t have to worry about how?
Defending wildlife, which I already do. That would be all wildlife from mustangs to polar bears and abandoned pets.
What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you?
I guess it would be something that happened recently. I fell asleep while I was driving.