Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.
I didn’t grow up with many animals, mainly because I grew up with four brothers and sisters. There’s only so much room for an already well-occupied zoo.
During the past year, though, I’ve had a number of unplanned experiences with horses.
The first was last November in Argentina at an estancia outside of Buenos Aires. My guide Pablo and I rode around, checking out the cows, rabbits and other horses hanging out in the plains.
He spoke no English; I speak very little Spanish. But we signaled to each other in our own created sign language.
My second horse adventure was over the last Christmas holiday. My friend and I rode through the jungles and beaches of Costa Rica, with another guide who also spoke no English, but luckily my friend got us through the communication barriers.
Fast forward to spring 2009 during my second experience at Miraval Retreat and Resort, a magical place in Tucson, Arizona. If they had a “frequent guest” program, I’d be executive platinum.
So when I signed up for The Equine Experience® during this last visit, I was pretty sure I’d be getting on a horse and riding it around with my newly-developed but still amateur equestrian skills.
But, when I met Wyatt Webb, creator and leader of The Equine Experience®, the first thing he said was, “It’s not about the horse.”
Ugh, I thought. Then who or what is it about?
The statement is also the title of Webb’s well-known book. A group of us spent three hours working with each other and the horses, learning wise lessons from Webb’s words. And after the program, the reader in me rushed to the Miraval bookstore, bought it and read it in 3 hours.
While I never give away the details of the book – and can not reveal the experience of the Miraval program – I can say that I learned quite a bit about how I communicate with others, what I project and reflect and how I can be more aware of my intentions.
For me, my experience interacting with the horse at Miraval:
1) Showed me how living in simple awareness can be a lot easier than we think.
2) Taught me about living life in the moment.
3) Helped me think more about ways to change my life to serve my own goals.
For centuries, animals have been a core part of all global cultures – as transportation, food, partners and symbols. For many of us, they live right alongside us as pets and friends, but they have something to teach us as well.
Animals are amazing creatures, programmed with fewer scripts than we are.
As always, I’d love to hear your related stories – and it doesn’t have to be about a horse.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What a fantastic set of experiences, Laura! And I have to hear about your Costa Rica adventures in preparation for my trip in November.
Though I grew up in a zoo of a family, too, we had the great fortune of always having stray or unwanted pets show up at our front door – dogs, cats, rabbits. I've known and loved animals my whole life.
They are an amazing addition to our lives. They grow to be as much a part of our families as siblings and friends. Their faithfulness and loyalty is unparalleld by most humans I know. I can't imagine my life without them.
It is so true Laura! I can't tell you the number of lessons I learned from my dog, Spot. And, I've had some amazing insights being out in the woods and observing animals. They are great teachers.
Thanks both for your comments – while this/these were new experiences for me, I think I learned alot about both them and me. Sounds like you both feel the same way :)