the wild horse
does not acquiesce to being ridden
and acts out against the will of its new rider.
it cries and neighs and leaps
anxious to throw the rider off
if he can.
but a rider firmly saddled
onto his three points of anchor
remains astride.
And then the rider and horse
fastened firmly together
must live in joined aliveness
though their joining may feel weak.
step by step the rider
learns how to ride the horse
to feel its limbs,
to move them,
and then with them, move himself.
turn left, turn right. go straight, upright,
the horse begins to yield,
but rebel thoughts will yet remain
while it is still being tamed.
then rider then* learns how to
feel what the horse feels.
the subtle tweaks of balance,
the quiet signals of chance and danger
the rider learns to find.
the horse will get accustomed
to follow the will of this man.
But while he doesn't know
why this is so
he remains a doubting slave.
the horse may find joy in running
the wild steppes the man wills,
and he may be drawn to wonder
when the rider takes him up new hills
or trains him to surmount obstacles
or imposes novel wills.
the horse lives, yes, a rich life
but he knows not what it's for.
and while he's trained, this is the case,
he needs to grow while the man explores.
eventually the horse grows strong and smart
he knows the lows and the highs
but without the causing meaning,
his trust not complete.
skills well trained and grown in strength
the horse believes himself free
yet remains the nag of the forgotten rider...
why the heck is he still there?
I've long followed your guidance,
and a slave still I am.
Now tell me, what's the meaning,
the purpose of it all?
the man with gladness answers
but cannot answer with words,
for words fall short of meaning,
the core meaning to be found.
the rider guides him places
where the horse can gather hints.
impulses that aim to balance
the horse's focus on self-growth.
the proud horse is led to failure,
the paining one to relief.
Whatever tells the horse that
the meaning is found outside
is countered by an opposite
to trim that extra weight.
when the horse believes he's got it
he's led subtly to a counterexample,
and when despair begins to take over,
glimmers of hope appear up ahead.
through many steps and a long time,
the horse recalibrates
and begins to suspect
that his answer is actually inside.
the horse is led to quiet,
even amidst the world.
the rider knows to guide him,
after he too has learned his portion.
in silence, the horse listens
and feels whispers from within.
in growing waves, he realises
"I am more than I knew".
and he has yet to find food
and to care for his life.
but the goals he once held dear
in waves too, they turn dry.
turning inside is gradual,
and not in a straight line.
but the rider has patience,
he keeps pointing to the inner eye.
the horse faintly sees in him flashes,
he feels the worth within.
and once he's felt that value,
he knows that is the way.
and as he seeks inside, he finds
the precious gem he is.
the life he lived, with pains and gains,
was growing him within.
it's not his agile muscles,
it's not his acute sense.
it's not the smarts he gathered,
it's just himself instead.
it's not the goods he gathered
it's not the lands he knows
it's not the mates that like him
it's the treasure inside that flows.
that worth is no rare treasure,
it flows through every cell.
and though he fears going astray,
he can never dry up that well.
The rider came to gift him
with skills and plenty and joy,
and through it, to remind him
he need not fear anymore.
that free he is, as when he was wild,
yet now fulfilled with will.
with worth and meaning, all his own,
for him to create, break, and distill.
