Once upon a time, I had a brilliant horse. I loved this horse and the special relationship that springs up between such a tremendous animal and a human. He did create a lot of work for me though, in terms of manure. I also have several donkeys, but donkey manure makes less mess. Donkey manure dries quickly and effortlessly pulverizes into fertilizer powder. (I recommend composting it before using it in order to destroy weed seeds). On the other hand, horse manure is gloppy and messy. I need to remove it from pathways and compost it regularly to keep things manageable, so I can wander around on the property without getting gunk on my shoes or boots.
One afternoon I was out in one of the pastures with a wheelbarrow and a shovel to collect some offending horse manure that had piled up along my daily walkway to the alpaca pens. My horse was nearby, ostensibly to offer me the illusion that he would help me with my chore or at least provide me with companionship. At the same time, I also conducted a phone conversation with a friend who owned a horse ranch. She commiserated with me about my manure collecting chore.
I was pleased with my efforts because I had cleared the path and made it safe again for walking. As I shoveled the last bits of manure into my wheelbarrow, my horse walked directly into the pathway and stood in front of the wheelbarrow, swishing his tail nonchalantly. As I watched, he raised his tail and deposited a huge new contribution of manure onto the path I had just cleared. I shared my dismay with my friend over the phone, and she labeled this event with a piece of advice that has served me well for years afterward.
“It’s a life metaphor,” she told me.
Indeed, it was. I realized that no matter how much I worked, there would be moments when the manure would pile on top of my efforts, again and again. I would need to repeat my actions; my work would never be “complete.”
Thus was born my exercise in attitude and perspective adjustment. No longer would I be allowed to dwell on disappointment and frustration. Instead, I would cull out a life lesson from this cosmic metaphor and learn from it.
Welcome to my blog about life in the country in Central Texas. Periodically I will write about unexpected events and my observations, and I will distill and share some life lessons we might bump against when we perform our daily work. These life lessons are gentle reminders not to take ourselves too seriously. We are not the “end all” or “be all” in the grander scheme of life. These cosmic metaphors point us to the humor that underlies our efforts. They are like the naughty person who sticks a pin in our balloon. We can cry in dismay or find the humor and the lesson for the moment and continue with our lives.
I prefer to keep going. Life will surprise me with many more cosmic metaphors if I remain open to receive the life lessons.
Remember, horses will poop in your path. Life is like that. Keep clearing the poop out of the way. Pat that horse on the rump as you laugh with him.
Clearing the paths with smiles,
