East and West

There are so many different ways to relate to and ride horses. The foal is born with certain genetic proclivities and grows up with a unique personality that will lend itself to specific disciplines.

Just as we grow and learn on our path to a career, the horse develops his own balance both physically and mentally. We can even learn a lot from horses about choosing what resonates for us.

The tiny pony will not become a star stadium jumper and a large draft horse is ill equipped for endurance competitions. Choosing what suits a horse is a lot like choosing what suits us, in a career or with a hobby...
things need to flow. Struggle is the antithesis of horsemanship and makes for a less fulfilling life!

When we look at a saddle or a bridle for a horse, the first goal is that it fit the horse. Styles may change, fads come and go, but comfort for the horse must be our priority! No training or conditioning can succeed if the horse is distracted by ill-fitting equipment or, worse, in pain and injured by it.

Same principles apply for us - the "fit" of a career, job, hobby or even relationship, needs to be examined. To suffer distraction or pain on a regular basis is to be struggling within a system unsuited to us. We can choose to change and bend ourselves to fit the situation. As to the horse, he does not have the option of choice since humans make most decisions for him.

In the long run, we do ourselves a disservice by ignoring our deep longings and dreams if we change to be better at something that does not feel right. We would not aim that pony at a five foot high jump nor expect a giant draft horse to win at barrel racing. There is something for everyone. We need to revel in our uniqueness.

Just as there are many lifestyles and many types of horsemanship, each of us is drawn to a climate that supports our vision of happiness. I'm a child of the desert. Many friends of mine cannot bear the heat, the openness, the wind and the sense of being alone that the desert can represent. For me, the rain is an event! Water is a blessing and monsoons stir the soul. Life is everywhere in the high desert and each life; each tiny blossom and tiny creature is a testimonial. I love it.

Others rejoice in lush, rolling pastures and forests and winter snows with cozy, warm hearths. Some are beings of the oceans and beaches. There is something for everyone, once again. Our diversity makes us succeed as a species. Our varied experiences make us interesting to each other. The ways in which we solve problems, face situations and communicate (with each other and animals) makes us both teachers and students of each other.

And this is the way it is supposed to be.
Thank you for being my teachers.
Thank you for letting me teach.
Katharine