Be The Change You Wish To See

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”

– said  Greek philosopher-Socrates. How often do we hold onto old habits, feelings and behaviours that don’t serve us well? How often do we wish that we could develop that attitude that says – change what you can and don’t sweat over what you can’t? As Mahatma Ghandi said ‘Be the change you wish to see’.

We all have it within ourselves to be able to change, to move from dysfunctional models of feelings and behaviours to something more enriching. Working with horses teach us that, if we observe their example, we can spend much of our time in the here and now – not allowing ourselves to be hooked down by negative thoughts and emotions and instead, connecting to who we truly are and living by the values we aspire to.

Barack Obama said “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Through Equine Therapy and spending mindful time grooming or just sitting with a horse is a great platform for reflection. Paradoxically, just allowing ourselves to become more aware of who we are and where we are, opens us to self-compassion, choice, and potentially change. Horses allow us to unite unconditionally with another living being. We can take off our masks and lower our defensive shields. The trusting, non-judgemental relationship you build with a horse is a humbling experience. Through interactions of calm acceptance, there is space and time to focus on developing new approaches and being the person you truly want to be.