Finding your feet ...

Over the years in publishing HorseSouth, I have met many people. Some people were just memorable and some people I consider dear friends. Over the weekend my friends Chris Cox ( http://www.chris-cox.com ) and his business manager Glen Young were in Clemson, SC for one of Chris' Ride the Journey tour stops.
My hubby Kent was gracious enough to stay home with our kids and my dear friend Karen Jones came over and we rode over to Clemson yesterday to visit with our friends.
I have attended so very many clinics and demonstrations over the last 9 years that I have to confess, I don't often pay attention during them anymore.
After we visited with Glen & Chris during lunch the clinic resumed and Chris was working with a pretty palomino on collection issues and admittedly I was checking my facebook page and not really listening. He worked that little horse and got it softer and more supple and had it cantering all collected up - which is a pretty sight. He was putting some leg on him / her (I don't remember if it was a mare or a gelding). After a bit, he asked the horse's owner to ride. He was reminding her to look where she wanted to go instead of at the horse. Because when you are riding, you'll loose your rhythm if you look down. Not sure why you do, but you do. You have to focus on where you want the horse to go. It's very important.
But think about that, think about how that translates to life in general. You have to stay focused on where you want to go. You you look down or back, you loose your rhythm - just the same as on the back of a horse. It's a flow of energy and once it's disrupted, you sort of have to be skilled to get the energy flowing in the right direction again.
In my book, which I am writing with another dear horsey friend Templeton Thompson, we talk about rivers of shit! LOL sounds silly, I know. But so true to life. Everything in life has a flow of energy. Even the bad stuff. But so many times we stay marred up in the shit. The problem with shit is that no matter where you put it, how you package it ... it's still shit. Templeton said that you have to let the shit river flow ... just like the you let the good energy river flow. If you don't let energy flow, if you stop it and play with it or you stay mucked up in it - well, that's where you will be! That's where so many people are. An old saying about that is "they can't see the Forrest for the tress". When I was involved in multilevel marketing folks would say about a new recruit with potential "he's too busy making $10 an hour to be a millionaire". Don't sweat the small stuff, learn to let it flow on down the road.
Later on in the day Chris rode his horse Pepto to talk about lead changes. He talked about how important it was to know where your horse's feet are. If you know that, he explained, you have better feel and control over your horse's body and energy. Also, you are a lot more confident when you know where the feet are. You aren't as apt to be taken by surprise etc. This lesson too, translates to everyday life. How many people do you see lost in thought or lost in a routine, just going thru the motions of life? They don't know where their feet are. Even later in the day, we were at dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Clemson called Pixie & Bill's. J. Parson's was singing and the restaurant owner was listening, everyone was relaxed enjoying good company, great music and friendship. The owner of the restaurant asked Chris the mystical question. "What is the connection" how is it that horses help people so much? In this instance, he was referring to therapeutic services and autistic children being helped by the presence of horses.
This is a question that even one of the most recognized horsemen in the world can't fully answer. But he explained how horses are just sponges, and they can just "soak" up the emotions of their human and spill it back out. With a child or a mentally challenged person, a physically challenged person this is almost always a good thing. But with an anger ridden person, a depressed person it can be either emotionally cleansing or it can be a train wreck. This is why therapeutic programs have a professional there to make sure the experience for the troubled person is cathartic and positive. Why horses can do this for people is somewhat mysterious so it's a hard question for someone to answer in a oratorical fashion. What Chris did say is that horses "ground" people. When you are riding or just hanging out with horses all of the worries and chaos that is life on earth just melts away and you are grounded, you are one with time ... in that moment. You know where your feet are!
SO ask yourself this week ... do I know where my feet are? And if you don't, find them! Maybe you can find them with your horses. Maybe you can find them in a trout stream. Maybe your feet will return to you during a golf game. I don't know what grounds you. But find it. Because if we could all get more grounded and know where our feet are, the world would be a better place.

Abundant Blessings,
Tess