I’ve just landed home from the great state of Washington today. I lived northeast of Seattle for a year in 2005-2006 and fell in love with everything about it; the weather, the people, the scenery, the energy; and it always refreshes me when I visit. I’m full again of words, ideas, thoughts, hopes, questions, and a huge smile slapped across my face…
It isn’t the state that has made me happy though, nor the scenery, the people (directly), the weather or anything else on the superficial level. I always feel like I have this unique opportunity to grow as a person whenever I am in Washington, for whatever reason. I am inquisitive about me in part because I am so curious about everything I encounter there. The people who are my friends have found a way (unknowingly perhaps) to cause great changes in a deep way.
What is happiness? I don’t have the immediate answer to that, partly because my own happiness has for the moment (mixed with a distinct lack of sleep) rendered me too giddy to contemplate and form the words. I do, however, know that happiness is not directly related to any outside influence; meaning we don’t find happiness because someone *makes* us happy, or we are happy only when things go our way, or the sun is shining, etc. Happiness radiates from the inside out, which might be why we spend so much time looking for happiness only to claim that it is something unattainable in this life or without the wealth of the world.
How does this relate to horses you ask? The USDF talks about the “happy horse” as an athlete. We naturally want our horse to be happy, and often believe that being happy can be delegated through food, treats, etc. But what if happiness was best found by allowing the horse the ability to find it in himself? Okay, so that sounds a bit hokey, or new age, but I try to think of horse and rider relationships in terms of human to human relationships. If I’m not happy by myself, how can I possibly be happy with someone else? They can’t make me happy, and often through their attempts to be nice and make me happy it only works to turn me in the opposite direction. But if the horse is naturally happy on his own, the best thing we can do in order to enforce and cultivate that happiness in a relationship with us as humans, is to be genuinely happy ourselves – and the best person to *make* us happy is ourselves through becoming aware.
I did a google search on the term “happiness.” It naturally returns the wikipedia entry, a movie with the same title, some music videos on youtube (look below to tune in…), a magazine even! Then there is “The Happiness Project” which is a writers blog as she is writing a memoir or manifesto on the implementation of every ‘trick in the book’ (my reference) to finding happiness, or finding more happiness in this life.
When I searched “happiness, horse” I found all sorts of links claiming “Happiness Is A Horse.” I can’t find any direct argument to combat this with… but I am also thinking from a slightly different angle than what most of the writers are probably coming from with that term. Maybe a better way to put it would be “Happiness Can Be Realized With The Help Of A Horse”? What do you think? I know a lot of miserable equestrians, so just having a horse is not the golden ticket to Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Enjoy the videos, it is definitely time for me to catch up on my Z’s!