The ancient Greeks had two words for time - Kronos, referring to sequential time that we measure using calendars and clocks and Kairos, meaning the supreme moment. Kairos is more elusive, signifying a brief moment in which something special could occur and in which things are possible. These Kairos moments, are the ways in which horses live, and what we call "horse time".
Our work with Marsha, a woman in her mid 40's, is an example of how we can cultivate joy and peace as we approach the Holidays and the New Year. By stepping into horse time we can avoid repeating old conflicts and reactive patterns.
Marsha was feeling stuck in frustration and anxiety about her family coming for the holidays. She had been experiencing difficulty connecting and commun-icating with both her children and her sister. As Marsha tried to connect with a horse without a halter, she spent a great deal of time brushing, patting, and moving the horse around; she tried to give the horse some hay she saw lying around but couldn't get a response out of the horse. Finally she cried out:
"This horse just doesn't care anything about me!" They were completely disconnected. We suggested that she take a moment to:
- Center and Relax
- Tune into her Breath
- Let go of past and future thinking
- Bring her Awareness to the Present Moment
Marsha went and sat down, closed her eyes and began to breathe. She then looked up and at the horse across the arena. Without a word she began asking the horse to walk toward her. After a long while the horse walked over to Marsha and they stood close together.
When asked about what occurred in the arena, Marsha replied: "I was trying to connect with the horse at first by doing everything I thought he might like, cleaning him, feeding him, etc. I wasn't really trying to connect and
I was getting anxious and upset while brushing the horse remembering past issues with my family, and thinking about what might happen when they come for the holidays. Then, I started getting angry when the horse wasn't responding to me.
When you told me to go take a breath and some time to connect to myself, I kept bringing my thoughts back to being here in nature, and realized .... read more
Mindfulness Resources
* Not her real name - all names and identifying information have been changed.
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"Thank you very much for providing me with some of the greatest opportunities I've ever had at getting to know myself... All of your skill, attentiveness, patience, sincerity, and warmth has made my experience of equine therapy both effective and touching. It has truly been a pleasure spending Friday mornings at the ranch with all of you and I can only look forward to future workshops!"
All my best, Michelle M
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