You may or may not know about a program called Ride To Walk. The organization is dear to my heart. Located in Lincoln off of Hwy 193, it is a nonprofit organization which enables children, teens and young adults with nuerological disabilities to participate in equine assisted therapy. In easy terms, children with autism, cerebral palsy and deep brain injuries ride horses for fun and therapy. Its amazing.
My experiences with the horses on site have been very educational. For example, I now know that horses are extremely skittish and very strong. So a skittish, strong animal in a tiny trailer going down 80 in traffic is probably not a happy animal. Like today. I was driving from Auburn to Sac and wondering why the middle lane going 10 mph less than the speed limit while the other two were moving along steadily. A truck pulling a horse trailer was at the front of the line in the center lane. Now maybe its my time out at the Ride To Walk ranch, or maybe it’s Mr. Oliver’s talks, but suddenly the traffic puzzle was completely understandable. Any frustration I might have been feeling dissipated instantly.
It struck me how easy it was to be compassionate towards a situation that used to cause great frustration a scant year ago. I used to loathe horse trailers, boat trailers, RV’s towing an auto, etc. They just plugged up the roadway and caused trouble, or so I used to believe. Now I see the roadway as a shared space. Yes, I need to get where I’m going. So does the RV. So does the skittish, strong animal in that tiny trailer. Maybe if I show a little more understanding for their situation, then everyone around will see the example. Hopefully they will be understanding too.
See how easy compassion can be it! Compassion can be a great act like easing the hunger of others through a food drive and inspiring video. It can also be easing the stress of the situation through a patient example at just the right time. Maybe next time in traffic or the supermarket line you too can be that patient example?
Comments
The most important part of compassion for me, is the practice of it. We can all talk about compassion until we are blue in the face, but our community, our world, will not be better for it. I equate it to martial artists that talk about how great they can punch or kick but don’t ever put in the time on the floor. Martial artists walk the talk and we are experts at getting things done. Keep up the great work Lisa!