Freedom Trails

Harnessing Healing and Hope through Horses

The Nail

Royce Gomez | November 6, 2010

I once heard a story that a rebellious teen was approached by his father and asked about his behavior. He said, “Son, take this hammer and pound it in the plank.” So the boy did. The father then asked him to take remove the nail. The boy said, “That’s easy.”, and removed the nail. The [...]

Sexting continued

Royce Gomez | September 9, 2010

What are you getting out of sexting? Is it worth it or will you look back on this fad w/ regret? Gals, what does he really think of you? Guys, what if she were your sister?

Sexting and Teens

Royce Gomez | August 31, 2010

I got the chance to share part of my ugly past with a young girl this evening. She is being pressured to get involveed in sexting. Men are very visual creatures and the rise of the internet gives way to new dangers such as sexting. In my opinion a young boy that would ask a [...]

What is freedom

Royce Gomez | July 15, 2010

Freedom in its purest sense is the presence of choices. Freedom is indigenous to who we are. We do not have to beg for it, nor do we have to prove ourselves first. Freedom is best balanced by a submission to right and wrong. (excerpt from The Anger Workbook) If you think about this statement, [...]

Controlling Behaviors Part 2

Royce Gomez | July 4, 2010

When a circumstance arises that brings out emotions, do we address the emotion or the performance?
Most of us have been on one end of a conversation like this: A 12 year old says, “My English assignment is too hard. I can’t do this.” The parent responds, “It wouldn’t be too hard if you’d start working [...]

Controlling Behaviors

Royce Gomez | June 27, 2010

No one was created to be controlled by another. By age 2, we already show our independence and desire to make choices. Sometimes we feel controlled by people, sometimes by our circumstances.  Whatever the cause, feeling controlled causes anger. Anger can be a beneficial emotion or a destructive one. If you feel angry often, you [...]

Loneliness and Depression

Royce Gomez | June 21, 2010

What causes loneliness and depression? Many times I think it is caused by not having a “best friend” relationship. When we have someone we can always call and talk to or call on for help, we don’t feel as lonely. Loneliness can then lead to depression because you carry the weight of all your problems [...]

Social Media

Royce Gomez | June 5, 2010

As a board, we spoke the other day on social media. Social media has changed our world, our relationships, and the way we communicate. Here at Freedom Trails we want to harness the benefits of social media to communicate better with you. We want a more interactive, real time way to communicate with you. We [...]

Best Friends

Royce Gomez | May 27, 2010

I was speaking with someone recently about “best friends”. I would define a best friend as someone who is there to be supportive of you (which could include many people), someone you enjoy spending time with (again this could be many people), someone who listens to you without a critical ear (very few people probably [...]

Are you playing the right role?

Royce Gomez | April 7, 2010

There are basically 3 roles we play in our relationships: parent, child, adult. A parent has all the choice and all the responsibility for herself and the child. A child has no choice and no responsibility (this obviously changes to increase choice and responsibility as the child ages) for herself. An adult has full choice and [...]