On Life and Being Awake

Last week I had the opportunity to go horseback riding with my younger sister for the first time in several years. Natalie and I took riding lessons at about the same time when we were 12 and 10 ... you might say I "grew out of" them, though I certainly still enjoy riding and admire horses. However, they have been (and are) Nat's lifeblood. She went on from there to train a mustang filly and eventually majored in Animal Science and married a cowboy. Now she and her husband and baby boy are living the cattle-ranching life and have several horses and a couple of dogs. The last time I rode was with her - before we went away to school together, before she ever met her husband, before my mission.

Needless to say, it's been awhile. My riding muscles and horse-speak are a little rusty, to say the least. We didn't ride for long, but we talked as we rode and Natalie started to explain to me an idea that has made a huge difference for her in her work with horses. She talked about how one puts "life" into their riding, into their prompts to the horse, into their mentality.

She commented on the way my horse, Punch, would frequently flick his ears backward in my direction. I had always been given to understand that this meant he was listening to me - true, I think, but Natalie added something to that, saying that the flicking of the ears suggested an uncertainty about what was wanted; a waiting, almost, for more clarity of direction. When his ears were pricked forward, she said, you could be sure he knew where he was going and how to get there. There would be a livelier drive forward in his step and a tangible energy that would unify us if I allowed myself to be driven by the same "life" that was driving him. Natalie explained that sometimes the "life" in him would be more readily apparent without my help, as when we turned toward home and he could see his destination and push toward it, confident in my intention as well as his own. The trick was to inspire and bring that "life" (more of an attitude and inner state than anything else) to our partnership when we headed in a direction that didn't immediately appear to lead home.

As I have been pondering this, I've been reminded of some thoughts on the meaning of being fully awake ... not just in body, but in spirit, mind, and heart as well. Henry David Thoreau wrote,

"The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night. Little is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudgings of some servitor, are not awakened by our own newly acquired force and aspirations from within, accompanied by the undulations of celestial music, instead of factory bells, and a fragrance filling the air - to a higher life than we fell asleep from; ... The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. How could I have looked him in the face? We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep."

I don't think I want to attempt to expound on that at the moment. But think about it. I still am.

To connect back to the question I asked in my last post about how to encourage the healthy seeking and finding of energy, and emotional stimulation, here are a few things that I find refreshing and balancing. Everyone has their own, so this is absolutely not an exhaustive list ...! That said, do these types of activities help you to develop that inner sense of "life" or an awake state that fosters confidence, openness and sensitivity? If not, what does? When do you feel most awake? And, recognizing those moments of awakeness, what would it take to seek them more intentionally and more frequently?

Leave your cell phone home for a dayWeed the garden (REALLY weedy gardens are best ... progress is easy to see and satisfying. Water first ;)Visit a drive-through car washSing along to the radioDance in the living roomSmile at a stranger ... or smile BACK at a strangerPlay with a babyTake a shower and finish it off with a thick, warm towelListen to uplifting musicWalk barefoot & get your toes DIRTYPlay in the mudClear the air with someone you've been hesitant to talk toGive someone a long hug for no reasonListen to uplifting musicHave a good cryStop and look at the starsTake a deep breath with your eyes closed ... better yet, take 3 or 4.Go for a walk or jogHug a pillow Cuddle the cat ... (or the dog ... or the gerbil ...)