I found this on Facebook:
“A psychologist walked around a room…As she raised a glass
of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the ‘half empty or half full’
question. Instead, with a smile on her
face, she inquired, ‘How heavy is this glass of water?’ Answers were called out in a range from 8 oz.
to 20 oz. She replied, ‘The absolute
weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how
long I hold it’.”
Now there is a Fresh Perspective. The weight doesn’t matter, only how long you
hold it. For years and years and years I’ve
been riding around the ring troubled by my “contact.” It is to light, to heavy, to inconsistent. My reins are too long, my wrists curled. I’m pulling; my horse is heavy. We’ve been working on the idea of letting go
in our dressage lessons. I have tried
wrapping my head around the concept that the horse doesn’t respond to the aid,
but to the release of the aid. Now I’ve
been doused with a cup of water and it all makes sense. My horse is only heavy if I try to hold her
up all the way around the arena.
The psychologist went on to say, “If I hold it for a minute,
it (the glass of water) is not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb
and paralyzed. In each case, the weight
of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” What an interesting way of looking at the
aids we give our horses. It isn’t the
amount of pressure used for the aid, but the length the aid is applied that
makes it heavy. That is why even with a
very severe bit, you can ride lightly.
With a simple soft snaffle, you can create a very heavy connection.
The Facebook lesson ends, “The stresses and worries in life
are like that glass of water. Think
about them for a while and nothing happens.
Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you
will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything. Remember to put the glass down.”
Whether it is the dance we are striving for with our horses
or the burdens we carry from our jobs, families, grudges, preconceived notions
or life experiences, we have to learn to let them go. Some things you have to pick back up, like
working for a living, but a burden is always lighter after a break.
We just got back from vacation. As far as vacations go, it was fairly well a
disaster, but you know what? For that
week, I didn’t think about my normal life at all. I lived only in the moment and refused to
even think about the burdens I left at home.
In spite of scheduling changes, sickness, and crummy weather I still
came home recharged and ready to pick back up my responsibilities.
Happy New Year. With
this Fresh Perspective I’m resolving to practice letting go. Whether I’m releasing my aids more quickly or
spending some time each night not fretting over the days worries or planning
for tomorrow, I hope to remember this lesson.
It isn’t the weight of the burden that makes it heavy. Its heaviness is directly related only to how
long you refuse to set it down.
