We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cora Bruffy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Cora thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Life is a learning and growing journey, and I have had many adventures in my life, and I have never been the type of person to be held back by fear or doubt. The biggest risk came when I first ventured into the wonderful world of domesticating animals and finally found my goats, beginning my best-risk adventure of starting Faeryland’s Farm Menagerie and betting on the goats and me. The farm is a small 501C3 nonprofit animal sanctuary in Baxter, Tn where we rescue animals, do animal education, and do animal healing in the form of animal reiki and goat therapy. Faeryland’s Farm started as an idea. I traveled the whole country before I found my place in Tennessee. I have had many successes and failures in my life, and I have dabbled in many trades and professions, looking to find my true calling and life purpose. From fast food worker to archaeologist to (now) college professor/nonprofit CEO, everything I have ever done in my life has led me to work with animals and nature. Archaeology was filled with many risks because you never quite knew what conditions you would find. Plus, for most of that career, I was the only woman, alone, with strange men in the woods – most of the time, the animals were my only friends and companions. Despite that, I learned much about myself and the type of person I was. No matter what risk I took, I was strong, and I could figure it out and find another way if needed to overcome any life challenge because I have passion for what I believe is right and wrong. What I believe is right or wrong evolves around how we behave and engage others.
Nature and animals have always played a role in my life in some way, especially as an adult from my experiences in archaeology to ecopsychology training with Naropa University, a Buddhist college in Boulder, Colorado. I have learned that by healing with nature and animals and through animals and nature, we are only inhibited by our limiting thoughts and fears, meaning, if you listen, you will hear the voice of animals and nature guide you. Taking a risk means that we are venturing out into life in a way that is uncharted territory and might go against the social norm. However, if your vision is solid, practical, and realistic, the goats say, “go for it!” The only risk you have to take is you! I began my journey by creating an animal sanctuary with no experience or background in domesticating animals, but I took the risk and spent enough time in nature that I have learned my journey in life means serving the animals and nature because, in turn, which helps us, humans, too. We are all here together and any risk we can take to help make life more positive, productive, and efficient for everybody, we have done a good thing.
Working with farm animals is risky because, as many old farmers will tell you that when you deal with livestock, you also must deal with deadstock. With no professional experience or education in farm animals, the past ten years have been a great education in animal health and science. We have had many losses along the road as well as many successes.
The risk I undertook was to try to help society with animals. Animals were created first because they are here to help teach us, act as a guide, and be our companions. Goats, especially, are sages because they represent the universal archetype of oneness and wholeness. Their horns connect us to the universe and dimensions beyond while their hooves and agile natures help one and ground us to the earth. Their unique personalities and intelligence as well as delicious dairy represent the human-animal-nature connection. We are all one and here to support each other. The goats know that taking risks is tricky and wonderful. They headbutt their way forward when needed and know when to relax and frolic along. They teach us when to be assertive and take risks and when to relax and go with the flow because the time will come, and life will change so that we move forward.
Another risk associated with the farm and perhaps the biggest was not knowing the impact we would have on our community or how people would respond. Goats are not official animal-assisted therapy animals, and one goal of the farm is to get them that official status and start the official caprine training program. Since goats are novel, it was hard to gauge how seriously we would be taken. However, goats are gaining in popularity as pets and animal companions, and we want to provide people with as much accurate information on goats. Goats are some of the most intelligent mammals because they understand complex language, different languages, accents, tones, and body language. Goats are also the first domesticated animals – no doubt because of their delicious dairy products along with their distinct and lovable personalities. It was a gamble to introduce goat therapy because it is novel and unprecedented. Predicting how the public would respond was tricky. However, the animals have a clear mission and want it known; as the human, I just have thumbs and speak English. This experience is worth all the risks and wonders life can offer.
The best advice that we can offer to any aspiring entrepreneur or nonprofit enterprise is to dream big and take the risks even when it seems hopeless or silly. If you believe in what you are trying to create enough, then every no or obstacle means that you are on the right path and just need to take the time to slow down, step back, and refocus because, if you want it bad enough, life will not make it easy. Rise above the challenge, be flexible with your plan, tools, and resources, and dream as big as you can because we create the world we want to live in, and nothing comes into this world without going through the mental/dream realms first. The goats say to dream it and make it happen because the biggest and best risk you can make is betting on yourself, and that is a gamble that is always worth your time, energy, and effort. I have taken many risks in my life and the biggest and best risk was betting on my goatie nature (because I am an Aries) and betting on the animals and nature. Where this journey will lead as I grow older, I do not know, but I know that I will continue to take the necessary risks in life because living life safely and comfortably is dull. Be like the goats. Be not afraid to step out of your comfort zone and achieve amazing things because, the goats say, you can do whatever you dream and go BIG!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi You guys! My name is Cora Moore-Bruffy. I earned a MA in History & Culture: Archaeology, and I am working on my PhD in General Psychology. My PhD thesis focus is on mindfulness and animal therapy and I am certified in psychology, child psychology, pet psychology, pet nutrition, animal reiki, and pet first aid, so, I do goat animal-assisted therapy and animal education for humans and animal reiki healing for animals. Animals have always been a big part of my life. I believe that for us humans to truly heal ourselves and move forward in positive and productive ways, we need animals and nature in our lives. Animals and nature provide us with the means to live and they can provide us with better physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states so that we achieve optimal happiness and well-being in our lives. I believe animals can not only help us achieve those states, but they too want to have optimal happiness and well-being. Animals want to know that they are safe and loved just like us humans and animal reiki is a great way to help our animals improve their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states and it helps improve their connection to us. I have been practicing meditation and mindfulness for many decades and animals and nature have always been a deep part of my practice. My animals are my life, and I extend that love and compassion to all animals because I love animals. In addition, I have over 10 years’ experience teaching college course and I previously worked in archaeology for about 14 years. My Master’s thesis focused on the use of mounds within southeastern ceremonialism. I teach many social science classes from Psychology, Archaeology/Anthropology to American, World, and Contemporary History, Cultural Diversity, Sociology, and Philosophy. I have worked with many Native Americans groups on social and environmental justice issues. I worked with the Oglala Lakota to help end the illegal flow of drugs and alcohol onto the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota as well as helping end the poverty on the reservation. Additionally, I have worked with many groups all over the world helping with preservation and cultural diversity issues. I work to preserve culture, nature, and animals because these things are the structural foundation of our cultures and behaviors. In addition to teaching online, my career path is indeed a learning and growing experience for me of which I do not know the outcome. However, my desire is to continue educating others as well as preserving culture and nature because these things are important to understanding how societies and individuals learn and grow. I live outside Nashville, Tennessee where we have a little goat farm with our Lab pup (Max who is around 6), JackRussell/Yorkie Donut (about 2), and Irish Wolfhound mix Roscoe (about 2), ducks, chickens, guineas, turtles, fish, cats, rabbits, donkey….and goats, of course! My animals are very spoiled. I lived in Alabama for about 22 years, Colorado for a few years, and California for a year before settling in Tennessee. I have lived on many army bases too because my dad was a chaplain’s assistant in the Army, and I lived in Germany. In archaeology, I traveled all over the continental United Sates. This is a beautiful country, but I love the Appalachians the most. My husband has been in the field of carpentry/construction for over 20 years and we have a small carpentry business. I also like to paint and draw when I get a chance to relax. Most of all, I like to learn, relax, and enjoy life hanging out with the animals.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Being able to start a nonprofit business to help animals has been a little crazy and not easy. I am lucky to have wonderful friends and colleagues with similar goals supporting me. We are an eclectic collection of personalities and skills, and most of our team does not live in Tennessee. We rely on the virtual world for most of our communications. Maintaining morale is relatively easy because we are passionate about helping animals and nature. Because we have a significant social media presence, our team sees pictures or videos of the animals daily. Our social media and Zoom meetings allow us to connect and provide a way for the team to see and check in on the animals at any time. Therefore, you must have a common motivator geared toward your brand. Being passionate about your brand and what you are accomplishing helps because that energy spreads.
Setting schedules, holding regular meetings, and setting agendas and feasible goals are good ways to organize your team. Since we are all over the United States, having a detailed schedule for social media and assigning tasks is crucial to focus on the day-to-day functions and building long-term goals. Setting meeting agendas and communicating in clear, compassionate, and respectful ways help organize and motivate. Being supportive of each other and realizing that you are all on a journey together, learning and growing. Challenges will come up, and disagreements will occur. Being fair and patient and working to solution building and compromise helps with morale. Being a leader also means knowing when to step back and let others take control because you have a team, and you do not have to do it all by yourself. It would be best if you believed in your team as much as you want them to believe in you and your mission.
Another way to help organize your team that is not too much fun because it is more on the professional, business, and legal side is to clearly communicate your organization’s policies and get everything in writing. When you invest your time, money, and energy into creating a business, you do have to remember that professional relationships and friendships cannot always mix, and you must protect your interests and investments. Anything related to the business must have legal paperwork attached. Not all friendships last, and not all friends make good business partners. You must be discerning and logical. Most importantly, being a business owner means that you must be the one to set a positive example for your team as well as be flexible and open enough to accommodate all the skills and gifts your team has to offer. When you are organized and motivated, the energy naturally flows to others.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The best ingredients for success are passion, goal setting, flexibility, and hard work. You must love what you are doing to be successful and be open to learning more about it. It can be infectious when you are passionate about your brand and goals. At the same time, realize that challenges will arise and you will modify plans. View those challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. Be willing to do the hard work, and realize that doing what you are passionate about means getting your hands dirty and setting positive precedence. Most important, be kind to yourself. We all fail at times. You must get back up, and do not beat yourself up too bad when you fail because you can always try again – and try another way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.faerylandsfarm.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faerylandfarm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaerylandsFarm
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaerylandsF
Image Credits
Myke Wilken Photography