partnership

Last week a new animal joined our menagerie of fuzzie-family on the farm: a horse. I was as surprised as you to hear about it as it all happened very fast. In any case: here Silky arrived and my what a power house she is! A wise and beautifully proud thoroughbred, she got the gist of me quickly and is very kind to me. She absolutely adores my husband.

If you have never been around horses: they are literally a different breed. For starters they are herd animals and very very observant of humans. Uncanningly so. To say that I would be in future teaching the horse anything is a misguided statement: I will do no such thing. The horse teaches the horse, and the horse teaches me. "Soft handling makes for soft horses". (It doesn't mean I can go and act like a pussy, it means I have to lead by example. How I treat her is how she will treat me.)

How can you follow and trust another being if you don't "get" what they're like? There's nothing like getting focused and clearer about yourself then working with animals and in my case, with a horse. They will tell you. They will mirror your gnawing doubts or your silly behaviour and especially your ignorance. They will take charge when you don't simply because they test you and when you doubt yourself they will know and run with their fancies. They can be cheeky buggers when given the opportunity. It really depends on how steadfast you are to what degree the horse trusts you and will follow you.

Rest assured I will not go into girly fluffy Odes to the Horses, that was not my intention. I'm fascinated by the horse, that she after 16 years is still happy and full of energy despite being taken off a meat truck and having been moved from place to place as a rescue horse. Thoroughbreds are race horses and that's generally what they do. Silky has numbers tattooed on her but I haven't delved into her history as yet. I wish to get to know her as she is now, her past is not relevant as such.

Did you know that horses mostly learn by release of pressure? They don't learn from pain, that's when they just shut it out and ignore it. They respond mostly to subtle changes and naturally respond big time to big changes in their environment. I find this fascinating. It means when interacting with them, that it's vital to "think like a horse" which goes through anticipating, sensing and behaving like a herd animal, and to be more precise: a prey animal, as we humans are the incessant predator types. So I have to be aware of how my behaviour affects the horse and how she will feel about it. All the time. It's quite different then say cattle, horses are more articulate in their responding to us.

I'm deliberately taking my time with Silky. She is still getting used to our place, the noises (doesn't seem to fond of tractors) and gets a bit possesive if Rosie the jersey cow gets more attention then she does. Also what's interesting is who is the "top-mare" (me in this case) and how we stand in each others personal space.

Animals are very much like humans. They have desires, they want to have a clean warm bed, good food and assurance there will be love and cuddles in a place of safety. To me it's important we develop our trust rapport and that she gets used to us doing things together like walking, grooming, foot work, putting things on her back, before I even put a saddle near her. I also have bought a saddle measure device to make sure a saddle is right for her and that back problems won't be an issue. Horse problems often get blamed on the horse whereas they can be as simple of using the wrong gear that hurts them, or having been let down the bad habits path by people who didn't realize what they were teaching.

Partnership, not so much leadership, requires patience and understanding. It also I find is a matter of mostly self responsibility. As a Danish horse whisperer puts it: the horse will want to follow you if you not only do things right but "be" right. It's a co-creation dance. Be aware, and appreciative, and many things will naturally develop, and all will flow from there. So I've started from the assumption and resolve that I feel right within myself, and trust myself, so that she can trust me and that way we can rely on each other in this parnership. Mainly we want to have tons of fun! I know she wants to trot and run too, but all in good time. In building friendship with a horse, going slow makes sure things go smoothly and ultimately: better.

jumping jack

the difficulty is not

making evasive maneuvers when someone else is upset 

by rebuffing their airwaves of agony

but rather

to recognize it and trying to ease them by letting the vibes

move around you like a jumpy dog.

we don't have to immerse ourselves in someone's else's field of misery

to feel all its implications

in order to understand them better and what to do about it.

But it usually happens that way, regardless. 

Look the hurt person or dog in the eye. Listen. Talk a little bit.

Why would you not be there to make them feel better if they need it? 

And who's to say you have better luck with a frantic giraffe next time?

Japan

We do not need to see the images

To know what happened

and what it feels like.

We share the same flow

Whether we know this or not

and water runs deeply.

By waves and through light

Knowledge comes - not in facts

but by emotion, regardless of race.

Understanding follows

instills inside of us the realization

that we are in this together.

We share this life. 

With each other.

By choice.

interplay

Light is not just particles or a beam

It is that which lives and breathes

It is all around

Because it is everything.

So it is in you.

Even when something is so small, like a speck,

it still matters as it vibrates into being.

All those amassed beings mold together.

And sing. And also resonate.

It is a most wondrous thing. Can you see it?

The more you discover

the more you appreciate

The more you understand

The more you live "through" it.

It means being an angel.

To be part of ''that'' and to also let it just be... "that".

Worlds move, change, shine,

occasionally collide.

It's all moving.

It's all alive.

It's all light.

So we are all literally the same thing,

as we're made of the same essentials,

whether we're big or small.

Now do you understand?

It's all beautiful.

And we're all part of the same party.

Marcus

bridging the gap

Back from hols! Holy days. Hip hip!
Anyway...

The last few weeks have brought up much joy, some grief and the usual bust your balls or else. Nothing out of the ordinary in that sense. But! Some things were -again- very useful to come across and to discuss with others too. (I had immense fun as well finishing an art project with fellow collaborator Joi.)


In two areas I spotted the "bridging of the gaps":

1. between where we are now and that goal we envision in our brain
2. the communication gap that exists between what we can now understand and that place where we will grasp more eureka and ahas further down the track

These 2 have something in common and I'm not just talking the obvious gap here. The illuminated thought has crossed my curly brain that perhaps these things could either be:

• one and the same thing?
• 2 birds of a feather flock together or 
• door number 3: quantum mechanics

Take your pick.

What I find snazzy in this wee theory is that indeed we are unable to explain something for example that we have experienced in great exciting detail if the listener is not in the "frame of mind" where we currently exist to comprehend our endeavor. It's like explaining how to make Chinese to an Italian in Russian. Precisely. (Banging head against wall.)

So here is a recipe:

Don't tell someone more then what they can chew (or what they can follow). It's unlikely a stock broker has any understanding of the world of sewing and needles, and no skydiver has been expected to be thrilled to attend a seminar of manicurists. 

So! What makes great sense is if you wish to "upgrade" someone in the sharing of a story is to do this in steps. Every time you add to the story in a slightly more out of the box frame then before and see where you can get to. I have done this experiment and discovered I could take it to a certain point and then discovered the train station, which I knew was the boundary of where that person wished to go at that particular time. They were unable to follow me further afield. This is fine. We are all equipped to understand more in particular very "niche" areas. All of us have our own train stations with various platforms.

Or has some people have said:

"You can't hear what you are not ready to understand." Or in simple words: understanding goes as far as what knowledge and comprehension has been downloaded in your being. So, to return to the "bridging of the gap":

• if you wish to understand better, open your mind more (go multi dimensional).
• if you wish to judge less... accept grey as a primary intricate colour
• if you wish to grow greatly apply the 2 points above.

So here's to Live long and prosper!