Affirmations of Awareness for Horsepeople: Chaos Theory
09. Jul, 2009 
0 Comments
Out of clutter find simplicity;
From discord find harmony;
In the middle of difficulty
lies opportunity.
–Albert Einstein
No matter how much is happening at a given moment, or how many things are going wrong, I can choose to concentrate fully and with an open heart on a single unifying opportunity.
A conversation with gin at High Mountain Musing produced the above quote, from one of her quote-a-day calendars. Calendars are rife with chaos. At least mine are. I have several, and all have conflicting appointments, to do lists, phone calls, and much more that, mostly, I don’t get done on time. But that’s not what this affirmation is about.
There are days when you take your horse into the round pen, or mount for a riding session, and it seems that everything is thrown at you at once. You HAD a plan (or maybe you didn’t, *tsk, tsk*), but the universe has another one that naturally supersedes yours. And it’s chock-a-block full of stuff you don’t want to deal with.
Normally I do the thinking and writing on the affirmations. But you guys did such a great job on my last post that I’d like to invite you to offer examples of this affirmation and how it has played out in your lives.
© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal
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I know one thing for sure…when I have hosted clinics that I ride in, I am so busy making sure everything is going well I feel rushed when it is my turn and am not as relaxed as I want to be. Allowing a proper amount of time for preparation gives me a much better ride. As for dealing with things…if you want to go forward, there is not much choice.
Lori
People often ask me how “I” do it. I just tell them I put one foot in front of the other. What choice do we have? The real choice is whether to smell (and subsequently thank) the roses along the way or be consumed by bitterness* instead.
*this may not make sense to a lot of readers, but, oh well! I can’t share everything publicly
Lori
It strikes me that putting one foot in front of the other is a mindful practice of joy often referred to as walking meditation. This has been brought to popular consciousness lately by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Check it out!
Instead of viewing going through the motions and getting things done, or merely surviving the bad stuff, I need to remember to do it mindfully, and place each foot upon the earth with joy. Thanks for pushing me in the direction of this teaching.
When it comes to chaos and horses, the chaos is always mine and the horses who live with me all have their unique ways of asking me to get centered.
I learned to listen/pay attention, and then I learned how to translate.
Now I’m fluent with my particular horses, and we use shorthand, and the message gets through pretty quickly.
Once you tune in that way, everything gets magical, and what happens is exactly what’s supposed to happen.
I hadn’t thought about it until now, but I suspect this is partly why it’s so draining for me to go to horse shows, etc. now. It’s actually easier when we have one of our horses there, because then I’m in the moment with our horse. If I’m there solely as a spectator, I end up seeing so many people in chaos, and horses mirroring that to no avail, that I have to fight to stay grounded.
So many horses are saying no, and so many riders are saying oh yes you will, and there is very little trying to get behind the no to see what the real message is.
Like the weather forecasters here are fond of reporting during storms – we’re getting rotational activity – that’s how it feels – whirling, being lifted right off the ground by all the discordant communication going on. If I, a human with the ability to tune things OUT, feel that way, I wonder what the prey animal instinct-driven exquisitely designed to notice everything horses are feeling. Whew.
Lori
When I first responded to this, I was still in “How do you do it” mode. I realize I haven’t given your response the proper consideration.
I fully understand the mental and physical chaos of the clinic. Ones that you yourself have organized and are responsible for must exponentially magnify the mental chaos.
Centering yourself for your own ride thus becomes a real task, eh? Prep time…vital! How do you do it? Do you and your horse go off in a quiet place and talk? Do you sit there together in silence? What’s the method?
billie
You make an important point.
Horse shows can be a nightmare of the psyche if there is no heart coherence. That comes down to horses training their people!
I really love your weather analogy.