When we are in healing sessions with the horses we often offer the client an opportunity to check in with the back of their heart – a space most of us have never considered. Often this exploration brings tears, a softening, a moment of deep sensitivity. What is there, behind our hearts? What lives there that is so often not seen or felt or considered?
We are entering a time right now of great question marks, unknown landscape, foreign terrain. How will we enter this new land?
There is a story about an old man and his grandson. It’s called The Fight of Two Wolves Within You, an old Cherokee teaching. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
What will we choose to feed within ourselves as we navigate the unknown behind this new curtain? I wonder if we can accept the shifting sands beneath our feet with hope and peace. I wonder if we can hold each other up in ways we haven’t before. I wonder if we can bravely tiptoe to the far side of our hearts and explore with curiosity and wonder rather than fear.
I was driving into town last night, thinking about sickness, scarcity, isolation, the unknown that’s come to our doors. The capitol building was glowing so white on the horizon against a dark sky. It occurred to me that we can find beacons of hope, images of white light and healing, if we choose to look for them – passing clouds, the sunshine, our sacred horses, kindness to strangers from a safe distance. A moment of peace came to me with that feeling.
Perhaps the thing to do is dig even more deeply into the lessons the horses teach us. Stay grounded, connect to our breath, take care of each other, the only moment that matters is right now.
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