One Hoof in Front of the Other…

It all started with Bella…

Everything changed in my world the day Bella, my horse companion, arrived in my life and refused to even accept a halter. 

After months of trying to figure out how to connect with this being I finally heard her say,

“Stop staring at me like you are a big cat ready to pounce and just stand near me and try to experience the world through my eyes.  Try to be a horse.”

Whoa.

I dropped my whole agenda and began to observe.  I noticed all the random thoughts looping constantly through my mind followed by gusts of emotion. I noticed that when I was caught in these thoughts she moved away.  I tried to stop thinking and I followed. I saw movement down in the trees. Bella lifted her head. She cocked an ear towards the trees. A herd of deer moved silent as shadows in and out of the little forest. I stepped forward. Bella cocked one ear towards me and kept one in the direction of the deer. I let out a long breath. 

I didn’t even realize that I had been holding my breath. 

Bella let out a long breath and relaxed her neck. She moved closer to me.

This is her language. All this time I have been expecting her to fit into my perspective without even considering her language, her way in the world.

The song I’d heard on the first day, floated up around her. It was in harmony with the song the drowned land swamp had been trying to teach me. This was not a man-made kind of song. There were no words, no notes. The song was made of the rustle of spring leaves. It smelled like honeysuckle, warm and sweet. I loved this song. The song was Bella. The song was me. “We are all one spirit,” Bella sang in a language that my heart understood, even if my mind couldn’t. 

On this day a truly reciprocal friendship began to grow and Bella has been showing me the way into remembering my golden strand in the great fabric of life. 

Now Bella and the rest of the herd and I extend this invitation to you.

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