Monday 5 January 2009

Think Tank Day

I don't know about you but I have good and bad thinking days. The bad thinking days are those when I go round and round in circles and keep asking myself the wrong questions or even don't ask anything at all and bugger all comes out of it.
The bad thinking days are best spent on not thinking (!) as all that happens is more confusion.
The good thinking days are those when I actually manage to use my brain cells and engage them in some constructive thinking process. So today was a good thinking day. Well, some part of it anyway.
I have a few more ideas on how to go about my further teaching and they seem to be forming a better shape in my head now. That will hopefully be of benefit not only mine but many of my clients.
Horse riding is such a unique sport - you either truly get into it and feel the full positive power of it or experience the superficial layer, never go any deeper and never really get it...I want more people to dive in, hold their breath for a moment and get the real kick out of it. The one that I know is there.
The best people to teach are those who want to learn but I think sometimes you have to go the distance to show those people what there is to learn and how fabulous that journey with horses is going to be. We often forget what we've been taught or told but we rarely forget how we were made to feel...This is why my teaching methods always have the underlying mission of waking the true passion for the sport; for the passion drives the desire to learn more and more.
I might not always teach from books and might have unorthodox ways but hopefully what does stay with my riders is the will to get going and get exploring.

I also sat for a couple of hours today browsing various info on areas we consider the move to; looking at houses, prices etc - yay! I think I am so happy about moving out of London, even if I still have to wait for a moment for that to happen, that it released some more positive energy that was locked up for a long while.

I then hoped on the train in the evening to cheer up my very special friend...
You know how everybody wants happiness and joy in their lives and lives of people they care about? And how sometimes there are people around you who do care but who want to give you too much? Who want you to smile wide even though your face hurts from keeping it, that smile that never truly goes up to your eyes? Or who wants you to cry your heart and all your worries out and tells you it will make everything right? I did meet people like that many moons ago and I did try what they suggested but you know what? It may have worked for you but for me, it didn't quite do the job they promised.

What sometimes does work is to truly enjoy seeing someone no matter the problems they have, to just be around and not try too hard to make things better. Not entertain and not be entertained. It might not solve anything but it may make you smile, a faint passing kind of smile that sometimes is the most beautiful smile of all...
And then you may find that once you can smile like that you can also truly cry...and then go one more day forward...and then you can hope...then solve a problem or two...make decisions.
It does take time though.

The way I see it, life is like a special kind of puzzle. Some people want to give you a picture to help you put everything together. The way it goes though is that there is no picture. You take one piece and try it with another, then another, then another. You have family and friends to slot some pieces together but in the end it is your job to find the right shapes and sizes. You don't even know if all the elements are there, some you loose in the process but you keep going and you make your own image. The unique one.
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4 comments

Daun said...

Beautiful.

Rising Rainbow said...

You have hit this nail right on the head......... nice post.

Anonymous said...

Good and bad thinking days? Most definitely. I probably have more bad thinking days than good ones, but the epiphanies and great ideas that come on the good ones are what keep me going. It's so much fun to have those particularly as a riding instructor. Figuring out and exercise or way of explaining something that just clicks with a student. Which plays into what you said about encouraging people ... because those moments make life better for your students too.

And the puzzle analogy without a picture is a great one.

Unknown said...

Thank you all, glad you like it, just hope my grammar isn't too bad!

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