Holiday rain

Last week we joked at work that rain would fall on the public holiday today. and rain it did, for most of the day. I was glad for the grass needed it.

Danielle and I took the train to Oxford where we visited the Ashmolean museum of antiquities. One gallery contained Chinese communist posters from the Cultural Revolution. There we obliged a young Chinese tourist by taking her photo flanked by two benevolent renditions of Mao. I wonder what she was thinking?

Then the bookshops claimed us, and lightened our purse. I came away with two works by the prolific Carl Jung, including Four Archetypes. I need to work through these, and more. The clue is in dreaming the pace of which has not slackened.

To me dreaming is a sign of unconscious activity. Lately it seems as if every night has been filled by deep and serious dreams. By serious I mean dreams relating to my past and present life. The themes of leaving exile, of collectings things that matter and of getting rid of those which are irrelevant, all show up frequently. The intensity of dreaming is such that I must sleep longer and awaken mentally tired though physically rested.

Therefore I need to feed my mind more. I need to take in further ideas that will percolate down to my unconscious.

I wonder for how much longer this will continue? This process of growth and development fascinates me, and exhausts me too. But so much of life - true life where we explore, grow and make discoveries - requires courage and stamina.

Riding is an example to me. There have been weeks when the work-ride-sleep cycle has dragged me down into a shadow world of grinding tiredness. Then there has been that hang-up about faster work, which has required courage to overcome. Of course what the relationship needs is greater trust, however courage is needed in order to reach that point of trust. So it is also with the stamina to get through all that dreaming and reading. Thus also with the courage to accept what I read and dream.

The wide world that I ride through and the horses that I relate to, these remind me also to see beauty and simplicity. I may get terribly occupied with reading and thinking, dreams and their analysis. However their is goodness out their ready to be experienced. I can find myself in a place akin to the dark hour before dawn, when there is no light and the birds have not yet begun to sing. At that moment I need to remind myself that the birds and the light will soon appear. So we are back to the need for courage, and this I am granted by the natural created world.

The rain too is a part of the picture. I can control nothing but what I think and do. So I shall choose to be grateful for it. I shall find it beautiful. So I should too, I who love the arid chalk hills and the life that dwells there. That rain is like blood without which there would be no life up there.

So, back to reality. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I shall ride again. The ground will be softer so I'll postpone the trial of hoof boots for another day. But mainly I'll seek to enjoy the ride, communicate with Brena, and draw strength from the beauty that surrounds me.

I'll have a grubby horse to brush too. But that I enjoy, rounding her curves with a brush, noting her form and admiring her power. It's our grooming ritual.

Comments

[Horseideology]

J ~ I got this book for Miles recently and he's been enjoying it. I thought it might give you some thoughts too.

http://www.amazon.com/Mist-Filled-Path-Celtic-Wanderers-Seekers/dp/1577312112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306816412&sr=1-1

[White Horse Pilgrim]

Becky, thank you, that is a good idea. This book does have good reviews. I'm learning now about the collective unconscious and myths are such a good way to explore that inner realm.

[Horseideology]

It does have a lot of Native American stuff... and is about his resolving his Celtic heritage... Overall though it's more about the connection people have with their racial past and that is why I thought (even though it's not the same culture you have) you would be interested. :)