Not only am I a descendent of peoples that have warred over the centuries, but all of the men in my family have crossed oceans to fight and protect our freedom. Freedom can mean several things for example; "the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint" or "the power to determine action without restraint". Everyone understands this form of freedom. But not everyone has experienced the kind of freedom that is only felt.
As the sky lightens and the sun creeps towards the top of the ridge I think about what it means to truly feel free. Granted I'm only watching the sun rise because I haven't gone to bed yet. The fresh, crisp, clean smell of early morning almost assaults my sleepy senses. The air is cool, I haven't slept and I'm free to do as I please. With no one to tell me different.
But horses, horses are different. Some are wild and free, some are captive and free and the less fortunate are restrained. I've recently began a new adventure. A quest to better my skills and gain as much knowledge as possible. I've seen wild horses, horses kept in fields, pastures, big pens and stables. And they all have a different look in their eye. Freedom. Some have it, some yearn for it and some will never know it's sweet release.
Race Horses. They're trained hard at a young age, kept in stalls and fed high energy diets. Every move planned, every action accounted for. But on race day, on the track, they get to be free. Even if it's only a matter of a few seconds. The perfect rhythm between breath and heartbeat. The horses that love to run live for those moments of freedom.
Millions of people take riding for granted, but that's because they've never allowed themselves to feel free on the back of a horse. It's always amazed me, when someone more experienced can take your normal horse and quickly get more from them than you ever have. My big red mare loves to run. She's an appendix, so I suppose it's been bred into her. The difference is, she also has heart. She's fast, and sometimes that raw power and crazy speed scares me. She's a great horse and has always taken care of me. It's that split second when I let her go, that quick feeling of panic, of relinquishing control as I feel the power in her muscles, her stride lengthen and her head reach out that I feel free. I smile with reckless abandon when I let her gallop in the dark. Having total faith in her love of freedom because I have no other choice.
Horses are a grand example of what it's like to feel free, even for a short time. You can see it in their eyes, the way they carry their heads, hold their tails and run like their world goes on forever. I appreciate, treasure, love and wonder at: Freedom.
Xoxo Loves,
Me
So I just read your last couple blogs, and I had no idea you lived in King's Valley for a while. How did you end up there? When we left Horse Creek, my family moved to Blodgett, and Dad was the pastor there until the fall of 2007. So random that you ended up in that area.
ReplyDeleteHaha. I lived there while going to school at OSU.It was a ways out of town, but I had all my dogs, horses and 2 cats there. It was nice. That's really neat, I didn't know that.
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