Guests in Nature’s Space

Many years ago, I was on a trail ride on Long Island, and I was sitting on a joyful, spirited little horse names Iggy Pop. It was a big group of riders, and I found myself riding beside a gentleman who worked at the barn. He said to me that he always thought women, generally, were better riders than men, because men thought you had to control a horse, be in charge, make it obey you; whereas women understood more that it was a cooperative effort, that developing mutual respect with the horse was the more effective method.

He said, “The thing to always remember about horses is that you are not the boss. You are a guest in their space, so you want to act like a gracious guest.”

I’ve been on vacation—so please forgive my temporary blog absence—and in that time, I got an opportunity to practice being a guest not just with horses, but with all of nature. Teddy and I spent some time in upstate New York, in the Finger Lakes region.

I rode horses all through my twenties but only a handful of times since, and on my vacation I turned 50, so it’s been a while. I made friends with this kind Appaloosa mare named Aspen and she generously carried me through tall grass and streams, up and down hills. The entire time I was on her, I remembered I was a guest in her space, so I kept my hands very quiet, I chatted to her, I patted her neck when she moved through the puddles I asked her to, even though she doesn’t love puddles. She and I were in mutual respect, walking together, enjoying the sunny late afternoon together. When I let her reins go long so she could drink some stream water, she dipped her nose in and flipped water at me over her shoulder a few times, as if she thought I could use some cooling off, or maybe a laugh.

The rest of the vacation was nature-filled too. Every day we saw deer in broad daylight, some very close to us, some far more curious than fearful. In the twilight, we passed fields filled with so many fireflies that it looked like millions of blinking Christmas lights. We chased waterfalls, and made friends with chickens.

We were guests in nature’s space, and we took care to be guests who would be welcomed back.

PS. The above picture is me and Aspen!