Go!
Photo courtesy of Paradise Valley Farm
My four-year-old grandson Stevie started horseback riding lessons 2 years ago—a therapeutic experience that has taught him balance, emotional intelligence and given him a greater love for animals. His mother was raised with her aunt and uncle’s two horses, and the joy of riding continues. The farm owner is dedicated to the rescue and proper care of horses, dogs, and farm animals—values that resonate with our family. Recently, Stevie started grooming Daisy, the pony he rides, pulling the brush down her side with one hand while patting her gently with his other hand. He is so very in tune with the horse and laughs in glee when Daisy nuzzles him. I watched a video of Stevie riding, his back straight, brown curls sticking out from under his helmet, his gaze concentrated between the horse’s ears. His hands held the reins, and he told Daisy, “Go,” and guided her around the corral, coaching her back to the barn when his lesson ended. Such a little boy doing a big boy job.
It reminds me of the challenges that come in our lives. This year, too many of my dear friends have faced frightening health issues, lost loved ones, and wondered if life is fair. I have prayed, visioned, stood firm in the belief that, as Buddhists suggest, the main principle in morality is to help others and, if that is not possible, at least do no harm. And, if we can stay in the saddle, back straight and clasping the reins of life, we will circle back to the safety of the barn.
My other grandson Koa, twenty-one months old, has been going to the ocean with his parents since he was born. They drive out to Malibu weekend mornings and walk along the beach. Koa dances in the cold waves holding his parents’ hands. His joy is palpable, and he laughs as the spray licks his feet, legs, and face, not seeing the ocean as an immense body of water that can overcome him, but more as thalassotherapy, the practice of bathing in the sea as a therapeutic use of seawater used since the 19th century. Koa has his experience with the minerals and clean air without knowing it has a scientific name.
2023 is on the horizon. May we dance in its waves like Koa, and push through all experiences that come, saying confidently, as Stevie does, “Go.”
Happy New Year!
“Do not let your mind think on what has happened in the past, nor let it chase after things that might happen in the future; rather, leave the mind vivid, without any constructions, just as it is. In the space between old and new ideas, discover the natural, unfabricated, luminous and knowing nature of the mind unaffected by thought. When you remain this way, you understand that the mind is like a mirror, reflecting any object, any conception, and that the mind has a nature of mere luminosity and knowing, of mere experience.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
How to Practice, The Way to a Meaningful Life
