Have you ever noticed how quickly fear can creep in?
I got an awesome opportunity to observe this recently.
My friend booked a horse riding “bootcamp” with a teacher and I decided to join her. I’d categorize myself as a “Sunday-rider” who likes going for hacks once in a while but my riding had been totally paused during the pandemic.
As my favorite horse from the stable does not do classes on the arena so I was assigned a new one. They gave me a beautiful horse called Dolly. When I was making my first contact with her, they warned me that she was a “drama queen”.
That label immediately made me wonder if I had good enough skills… And it reminded me of the time when my horse reared up because she got scared of a plastic bag in the wind… I tried to brush it off from my mind but the fear had crept in.
Soon enough, I got to know what they had meant.
First round around the arena didn’t go that smoothly.
Dolly got spooked.
My heart skipped a beat but I stayed in the saddle.
The empty boxes on the side of the arena were something that scared Dolly – even though the teacher said that they had been there for a long time.
Next round I noticed how I was getting nervous when we started to get closer to that spot.
She got spooked again at the same spot but this time I saw it coming.
But this spot was becoming a monster for us.
Luckily, I knew that horses are very sensitive and that if I was getting more nervous, it would not help the situation. It would just turn into a vicious cycle where Dolly and I would make each other more insecure.
I needed to trust that I could handle the situations.
And I needed to gain Dolly’s trust.
I remembered my spiritual teacher John-Roger saying “You can’t afford the luxury of a negative thought.”
It was very true!
Instead of allowing myself to focus on what could go wrong and see myself falling down, I chose to hold a picture of us collaborating with grace and ease.
It wasn’t an instant fix but it started the change. Round by round the spooks got less and less… and then there were even rounds without spooks. My fourth time when I went riding with her, she didn’t react to those boxes at all.
I’m sharing this story as there is a lot of fear going around and as much as pandemic, the fear is also contagious.
Observe your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Hold the pictures in your mind that you want more of. What would that be for you?
Hope this story supports you on your journeys!
Have a blessed day!
