This was the comment from my four-year-old student after riding Tully the pony for the first time: “I loved being high up.”
Truth telling reveals more than what appears. He shared his wisdom, while only moments earlier, he expressed fear. He had no intention of being lifted on the back of an animal approximately sixteen times his size. Once on top of this majestic beast, his perception had changed.
Have you had a similar experience? Fear, one moment. Love, the next moment. How does this happen so instantly?
The lesson started out casual. We fed the chickens, picked up some horse poop, dumped a wheelbarrow of muck into the manure trailer, studied the architecture of the barn, learned how to put a saddle and bridle on a horse, and then together, the student, Tully and me walked around the property.
Tully really likes the boy. He slowed his pace so the boy would keep up. We observed the sights and sounds as we walked. When we arrived back at the barn, I asked directly and openly, “would you like to try riding Tully for ten steps?”
The question caught him by surprise. His answer caught me by surprise. I lifted him on the saddle and instructed his mother on her role as the sidewalker. We walked ten steps. I asked if he would like to dismount. He said no. He wanted to keep riding. We walked probably ten minutes, but for the boy, there was no time.
His world had changed. More accurately, his perception had changed. His fear was not real. Now, his sight was far and wide.
Who doesn’t like being high up? Not in the physical sense, but the times we feel that we are above the fray, above the misconceptions, out of the old mindset and in the light.
The boy taught me more than I taught him that day. He gave me truth that really needed no words. He is now a horse rider and a human who knows fear and love. His mother said that they celebrated his victory with a cookie.
Go give your fears a cookie. You deserve it.
Thank you Camron. This reminds me of two things - the first is how sensitive horses are, or can be. I know when Sophia rides - now but also when she was much younger and littler - the horses intuitively understood they were carrying precious cargo. You could feel their care. Fascinating animals.
And then also that sense of being "above" puts me in the mind of a metaphor from ACIM - being above the battleground, being able to perceive the big picture and not get caught up by this or that aspect. Healing as a form of understanding the whole, rather than the particular.
Thanks again,
Sean