Look into your horse's eyes

In Michael Johnson's book, Healing Shine - A Spiritual Assignment, Michael tells of a time he had difficulty with a horse and sought advice from a wise, old horseman. The old man told him to look into his horse's right eye, and he would find the solution.

After some time, Michael returned to the old man and said, "All I see is my reflection." The old man told him that was his answer, and left him with that.

If I remember correctly, a few days later Michael finally realized what the man was trying to tell him, or rather, what the horse was trying to tell him. That he needed to work on himself.

He needed to work on himself. What a recurring theme. Whatever we call it, your horse is a mirror, or he reflects what we need to work on ourselves. It is all the same. Do horses come into our lives to show us what we need to work on? Or, are they simply so intuitive that once they are there, they know what they need to teach us. Maybe it's a combination of both.

I have a client, let's call him Andrew. Andrew was feeling something was missing in his relationship with his gelding, Scout. As I worked with them, I couldn't help but feel something else was going on, mostly with Andrew. It was an intuitive type of feeling, just something wasn't adding up.

It just so happened that I picked up Healing Shine, was reading through it again, and came across the passage I previously mentioned. I started thinking quite a lot about that, and came to several conclusions.

• Andrew should try looking to Scout for the answer to their lack of connection.

• The lack of connection actually represents Andrew, and something else that is going on in his life. Most likely it is a lack of connection with a person he is close to.

• Once that issue is resolved, he will feel more connected to Scout.

Sounds simple doesn't it? It is so hard when we realize what we have to work on is us. It is always easier to change something or someone else. After all, we never want to think WE are the problem.

To top it off, the horse we love & have leisure time with is the one telling us what we do not want to hear. Don't try running away from it. It will NOT work! Don't try selling the horse either-doesn't work. The issue will still be there, unresolved.

My philosophy is this:

1. Thank the horse. Embrace the fact that he is teaching you to learn & grow. Show your love and appreciation to him.
2. Get to work on it. Take your time. Just like with the horse, take the time it takes.
3. Keep your horse abreast on the progress you are making. Yes, talk to him about it.

Whenever you have a problem with your horse, look at yourself first.