enlightened horsemanship through touch

I’m working full-time away from home for the first time in 20 years. Prior to moving here to Hawaii, I worked from home freelance, because my daughter’s health required that I be ready to visit the hospital short-or long-term at any time.

Now, we both have the luxury of approximating a “normal” life for a while. There are adjustments.

How in the world do you guys do it?

If I had horses now, I wonder if they would add to the burden or decrease it.

I especially would not be able to accomplish all that YOU do with any kind of presence or moment-to-moment mindfulness. Here’s what I’ve been doing: racing from one task to another after work, trying to get it all done before collapsing onto the sofa at eight or nine o’clock, and then desperately hoping that a second wind doesn’t come just at bedtime, ushering in a night of insomnia.

Multi-tasking is anathema to mindfulness. One thing at a time is the standard method of Buddhism. Pure-hearted focus and attention leaves the mind free to observe its own judgments of arriving and passing phenomena. If you multi-task, you’re on overload.

I would like to believe that the presence of horses and the tasks associated with caring for them would cause a mindful slowing of action and focusing of attention and affection that would alleviate some of the rushing around. Who knows?

I’m wondering: In your busy lives, how does caring for your horses, your families, and doing your jobs all fit into one life? What prevents it all from being too much? Do the horses help? Are there times when you wish someone else would just come and feed and muck? Or maybe feed your kids or husband and let you cry out, “Calgon, take me away!”?

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

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