Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Simple communication

Sometimes it only takes a moment to cripple a good day or a harsh word to undo a connection or a careless movement to spook a timid animal....

Working with my 2 young horses is teaching me how important it is to be aware of my body language at any given moment. A thoughtless reaction on my part can undo a weeks worth of trust building and unlike friends or family whom I may speak a harsh word to or who I may hurt with a thoughtless comment, a horse will not listen to my feeble apologies or care that I was having a bad day. He or she will just react in that moment and it will be up to me to earn back the trust.

It makes me wonder how it is that we, as humans, have become so careless in our words and our actions. Surely at some point in our evolution, we processed the world as the horse does, through simple communication and body language. If this is true than why is it that we have become so distant and disconnected from our selves that we think nothing of acting out against those we love or raising our voices in an indulgent release of our own frustrations.

We no longer worry about being cast out of a herd due to our behavior because we expect the people in our lives to forgive our outbursts, We have the right to a bad day...BUT... the truth is that NO ONE should have to deal with your bad day. You do not have the right to inflict pain on another and that includes emotional pain. Somehow the evolution of mankind has provided us with a million excuses for our bad behavior rather than a million reasons to persuade us to act in a more respectful and aware manner with one another.
When a horse doesn't like you his feelings are clear, when you loose his trust it will need to be earned back slowly, and when you love someone you had better start thinking of how your careless actions affect your loved ones or you could be the next one cast out of the heard.

Love fully and completely with the other persons feeling always in your mind. Harsh words don't need to be spoken and inconsiderate acts don't need to take place but if & when they do, say your sorry with a full heart with no rationalities or excuses. Be aware of yourself and think about how people in your life are affected by your direct actions. It is the least you can do!