A Fresh Perspective - An Adventure to Reshaping our Beliefs
The idea that we must train horses in order to use them, which was taught to me by my instructors and culture is completely opposite to my current beliefs. This process of unravelling or ‘unlearning’ what I was taught has caused me to reassess how I relate with horses and also how I see my place in the world. Not only are animals domesticated, but humans are also a product of domestication.
Horses have taught me to question my beliefs and then make a decision in alignment with my current views and what I feel in my heart is my reason for being.
Once we stop looking at why we are doing things the way we are doing them, we are blind. We are like sheep being led to some unknown outcome. Without asking deeper questions about why we are doing things in a certain way, we never learn the answers that are relevant to this moment. Perhaps there was a reason for some method in the past; however, we live in an ever-changing world, now more than ever, so shifting our perspective and seeing our lives and our behaviours with fresh eyes is crucial to our personal development and evolution.
In my interview with Ren Hurst, author of "Riding on the Power of Others, A Horsewoman's Path to Unconditional Love", she says,
"The key thing that changed everything for me was learning how to recognize the subtlest No. The more I practised studying and looking for the No instead of looking for the Yes, the more I realized horses say No all the time and people just ignore it. Horse trainers are looking for the Yes or they’re trying to create a Yes. Make your agenda looking for the No. If you look for the No, you’re going to see it a lot. And guess what? You can’t see a No from their back. By the time a horse bucks or bites or makes it clear from their back that they’re saying No, they’ve already said No a hundred times. The first No is when you have the intention of connecting and you are ignored. That’s the first No."
What happens when we take a step back and look for a No in our human relationships? Rather than force things to be a Yes, perhaps we can acknowledge the No and try things in a new way?
What would you truly love to experience in life? Not what your parents expect of you, or what your partner has grown accustomed to, not what your culture approves of or what your teachers told you was the right way.
Why do we feel it’s necessary to keep doing things in the same way? Is it possible to try something else? Something we’ve longed for but never dared attempt? What would happen if we let go of an unfulfilling relationship? Or a job we have lost interest in? How might you prefer to spend your time?
Are we in a crisis? Or is this an opportunity? A chance to break from the past. A permission slip to live your life in a way you hadn’t thought possible before now.