I often say that life throws up the same problems until I get the message and do something different. Yesterday I met an ‘in your face’ obstacle that pulled me up sharp, both literally and energetically.
Imagine the scene. It’s a beautiful morning in deepest Surrey, England. The sun’s shining. The birds are singing. My sat nav has taken me down narrow country lanes to within a stone’s throw of Lead Change’s equestrian centre, where I’m due to meet the wonderful Harry (Harry’s a horse) and his person, Andrew, for a coaching session. I’m early – half a mile away with twenty minutes until my appointment.
Suddenly, without warning, I drive round a bend and see barriers across the road and a ‘Road Closed’ notice. The next 20 minutes or so is spent in a futile attempt to get guided to a different route to the stables, in between driving round and round the road junction to get out of the way of buses and workmen’s lorries. Eventually, after taking down the barrier and driving the half mile to where two bemused BT guys are digging a hole right across the road, I admit defeat, accept that I am now late (I hate being late) and turn around the car. Whereupon said sat nav tells me exactly where to go, and I’m there in 10 minutes, meeting a few other lost drivers on the way.
OK I can hear you all saying ‘why didn’t you just turn the car around in the first place?’ You know, if I stay in my head I have no idea. I KNOW that the whole point of sat nav is that it can get you to your destination (most of the time) even if you have to change routes.
My energy was wrong though. This was a case of unhelpful thoughts blocking my resourcefulness. I went into hapless, passive, ‘somebody rescue me’ mode. My second state Presence deserted me. By the time I arrived, I had recovered my balance enough to realise how easy it would have been just to sit, breathe and let the right solution appear. And it was a great starting point for my conversation with Andrew and my session with Harry.
Like all Andrew’s horses, Harry works exclusively with your energy. He takes you out of your head and into your heart. He loves the lightness of fun, in-the-moment play, so he simply ignores me (or just gives me a quizzical look) when I take myself too seriously and he will walk away from any negativity. He’s a flawless mirror, reflecting back exactly what I’m giving out. He can follow my energy up and down, between states and give it back to me in his actions. It’s a salutory lesson about what people pick up unconsciously.
I’m reflecting on why I try to batter my way through life’s roadblocks rather than finding a peaceful alternative route. Harry has taught me about lightness of being through being willing to dance if he thinks it’s fun.
What roadblocks are in your way? What can you change to get past them?
In Southern California, Carolyn Resnick trains horses at liberty (without head collar or leading rein), with deep respect. I love the dance they create here:
Comments
6 comments
We’ve all been in similar situations, but it’s refreshing to see somebody being so open and honest about having a momentary lapse of common sense! Wonderful article, thoroughly enjoyed reading it, thank you.
Thank you Lorelei. It’s amazing what happens to your energy when you lose touch with the obvious. And people who are off balance already can find it even harder to maintain a common sense approach to life.
Good article, thank you. I can recognise it too. It’s funny how driving often throws up the analogies. I drive around the lanes here a lot and on a ‘road/head blocked day seem to lose the ability to reverse when confronted with a huge tractor (and they rarely give way!).
The minute my head goes into ‘Oh no, I’ve got to reverse around a corner and big burly farmer’s hand will be sniggering’ I reverse my car up into a bank! I make it true (although in fairness they don’t always snigger…)
But if I am in contol of my thoughts, reversing is no problem at all. I don’t always think of it in terms of energy, but you are right, it is about balance and I can always link it to othe rthings happening elsewhere. We truly are what we think!
Thanks Ann, lovely site. Jane
Jane thank you for sharing your particular country road challenge. They don’t give way do they? And balance, as you say, is the key to making a dignified manoeuvre.
As Henry Ford said, ‘whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.’
Ann: thank you for reminding us so graphically about the tension and literal dead ends that can happen when we get stuck in ‘doing’ and forget the ‘being’. You seem to be learning so much with elegance and grace from Harry about ‘being’ – he gives you honest, straight messages that give you powerful insights despite his gentleness.
Thank you Lindsay – beautifully put. I find myself still processing what happened with the horses weeks later.
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