Who’s on First?
I was just sitting down, reflecting on my incredible days at the 2020 EAGALA conference in Lexington, KY. Just as I climbed in my favorite old chair to write a few lines, my eldest son came running to me with a YouTube video to watch. It is just like Dr. Aubrey Fine said in his inspiring presentation Friday in the “Research Room,” we can only connect the dots when looking back. When I look back on the first time I heard the recording of “Who’s on first?” I don’t think I had ever laughed as hard, & mostly that was because my dad was laughing so hard he had to wipe the tears from his eyes.
This last weekend in Dr. Fine’s lecture about how animals intervene in the lives of self-destructing humans to give them hope & joy- I found myself with tears streaming down my own face, wondering why the event coordinators didn’t have the foresight to place econo-sized boxes of Kleenex on each table in the lecture room. It is just amazing to witness the lifetime work of a passionate person who will settle for nothing less than changing the world. It is equally amazing what can happen in a fairly innocuous convention center over 2.5 days when you have found your own purpose & you have been lucky enough to find your tribe, your dream team, to walk with you down paths you had never seen before.
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When I returned home to my own stable, I already knew something had shifted in me. When I worked with my first horse I was sure of it. Sometimes you just need the chance to reflect on what has come before to show you the vision of a future you can’t yet even wrap your mind around. The secret to success, I fully believe, is living the joy of your life every minute. Talk to the new people, share your deepest secrets, tell your favorite day dreams & never be afraid of what others might think. The ones that you scare away weren’t ready for your energy & the ones you attract are the ones you’ve been looking for all along.
As Abbot & Costello’s comedy routine was fading into the background on my son’s iPad, the first strains of a Spanish version of my favorite Leonard Cohen song came through our living room speakers. It reminded me of the connection I made this week with a dressage rider from Mexico City who turned her sport horses out to watch their herd behavior without worrying about what danger there might be. I did the same today & it was a beautiful experience. As soon as the beautiful song ended, the next words I heard were “then sings my soul,” followed by “I guess I’ll never know the reason why you love me as you do,” sung by my very favorite King.
Hallelujah. How great thou art! That’s the wonder of horses.
As I’m finishing off my last lines, yet another beautiful gift from the Universe finishes my thoughts perfectly-
“Like a river flows, surely to the sea, so it goes…Some things are meant to be.”
