Thoughts From Outside the Paddock: Mindfulness and Learning Patience
Jun 22, 2022
Mindful Moment
Mindfulness is a muscle that needs to be used daily if it’s to be truly effective.
I was sitting on the couch the other day, watching the Disney animated movie, Moana. Like many parents who’ve watched a movie thousands of times at the behest of their toddlers, I wasn’t paying attention to it. Instead playing on my phone and reading the news.
Out of curiosity, I looked up to see what my 2 year old daughter was doing. She was absolutely fascinated; it was a tender moment in the movie where the main character has one final visit with her grandmother, and my daughter was completely zeroed in on the screen. But how? She has seen this movie no less than 100 times! How can she possibly still find this interesting?! Is it because she practices mindfulness? Absolutely.
But for her, is natural. She hasn’t grown to bear the world on her shoulders, like adults have. She takes each and every moment as it comes, not existing in the past nor anticipating the future.
Mindfulness is getting back in contact with the ability to exist exactly in the moment you are in. It’s a daily practice to be mastered, and like our bodly muscles, something that will only flourish with daily dedication.
I’m not suggesting that mindfulness will grant you the ability to enjoy a movie you’ve seen with your kid a bajillion times, mindfulness ISN’T magic. It can, however, keep your mind present while spending time with your child. I take those hours and study her profile, the curls of her hair, the inevitable belly laughs and the moments she needs a hug from me.
Practice paying attention to the important things, the simple things. It’s what will help your gain peace.
Learning Opportunity and Difficult People
I remember the challenges I faced when riding a new horse. After a few years of riding my horse Junior fairly exclusively, there came a time that I was tasked with riding other horses. Some horses were so easy to work with, completely push button. Never any trouble and a joy to ride. Others…..it was like attempting a physics discussion with a brick wall.
It’s those, more challenging horses, that created the best learning opportunity. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s quote, “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor,” is perfect for this kind of situation. The question becomes how can you create a mindset that allows for clearer communication with a being that is so dang difficult?! I found in my reading some fairly simple and straightforward suggestions when working to bond with a stubborn horse.
1. Do Groundwork Exercises.
2. Set Aside Time from Rigorous Training.
3. Mind Your Emotional State
4.Hold Your Ground.
5. Learn to Recognize Your Horse’s Physical Queues.
6. Help Your Horse Relax.
7.Spend Plenty of Quality Time With Your Horse (1)
Now, this is where it gets fun. Do you see how these tips can transfer to human interactions!?
For every challenging horse we encounter it is a learning opportunity for the following horses. For each difficult human, we become better prepared for the next.
Instead of ground work with a horse, think of establishing boundaries with a difficult person. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 all are valuable for interactions with a difficult horse or human.
The point is that we can chose to view difficult interactions as learning opportunities. A chance for us to grow and mature in our own lives.
