Miranda Lambert Posts Beautiful Trail Ride Photo & an Even Better Message

Is Girl Crush Monday a thing? It should be. It is today.

I can’t help stalking the horse loving celebrities in the world, because there’s just something about seeing a Hollywood starlet enter our universe of muck boots and hay in your bra that gives me this huge sense of solidarity. I like seeing a strong brave woman ditch her angled makeup tricks and body shaping devices and just get on a horse and ride.

Miranda Lambert posted just such a photo recently aboard her utterly adorable Gypsy Vanner mare, Leiani. As she says, “wearing yoga pants and no makeup.” It’s not only a beautiful and captivating photo of a country singing legend, but the message behind the photo got me right in the feels:

Every now and then I decide to re-join the world of social media and post something really personal. Not promoting anyone or anything. Not selling a better version of myself to anyone or trying to look cool like we all do all the time. Just a picture that either I or someone I know and care about took the time to take and see the beauty in. This is one of those moments that im proud of. My friend Tommy snapped it on a trail ride on his phone at golden hour on the farm in TN. What a blessing. I’m wearing yoga pants and no makeup and im on the back of my beloved Leiani. A Gypsy Vanner horse. ?. But… Last night I was all dolled up and “out on the town” with my sweet man at the CMA awards in Nashville. I was excited about the night and posted a picture. Just now when I looked I realized so many comments were judgmental and negative. Cowardly people hiding behind a keyboard or a cell phone writing their useless comments about our eyes and clothes and body language. What a bunch of bull shit. Thank y’all for reminding me why I read books , write songs, and spend most of my time with animals and people I trust and love. And one last thing….. “Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.” Maya Angelou

A photo posted by Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) on Nov 3, 2016 at 10:18pm PDT

I’m certainly not a celebrity, but I totally relate to her message. First, how important it is to shed whatever our other titles are – boss, employee, mom, spouse, student, popular girl, nerdy guy,  starving writer – and just be on a horse and nowhere else. Nothing brings me to the present — without labels — more than being on a horse.

And secondly, I fully relate to carefully choosing our words. Whether you’re talking about a friend, an enemy, a celebrity, a politician, a competitor at a horse show – we can all choose to leave only beautiful and kind words for each other. At the very least, neutral words. Or no words at all. As you head into your brand new week, think about leaving good words. On your friends, your family, your horses and most importantly on yourself.

Also, editorially speaking, I think Miranda totally slayed at the CMAs.

Go Miranda, and Go Riding.