John and Raindrop go for a spin.
awareness, patience, and generosity by equines and humans alike. We lunge, jump, trot, and walk our animals in spiraling circles and figure eights. Loose but firm hands on the reins, the animals go where your eyes go. We dance together. My favorite time at the barn is late at night, with no one else around. I love being in the stall with Raindrop as she and her stable mates settle down for the evening. The sounds and smells of two dozen safe, warm, and protected equines are divine. Just being there, in sublime stillness, through her quiet eyes, I am part of the herd. It’s at these moments that I experience “rasa”, a Sanskrit term indicating a profound state of empathic bliss. Pony precepts have taught me a lot of things, some of which apply to human interactions. Beginner’s mind, meeting colleagues on their terms, starting where they are, interconnectivity, embracing the peripheral world, dancing with others, and sublime stillness all seem like good ideas to bring back into the office each morning — after I finish mucking out her stall, of course!
50 4 Legs & a Tail
John R. Killacky is executive director of Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, VT. Originally published as a commentary for Vermont Public Radio. Fall 2014
