Lovers of People and Horses

“I know a widower!” – Bella Dickerson

Lovers of People and Horses

“There’s a difference.”  Bob Kirkman said.  “People often say what they believe.  That’s different than living ethically.”

You and I often have conversations where people tell us what they believe.  Sometimes it’s as if they know exactly what to say.  They know what the “right” answer is for the current circumstance.  They know what we want to hear.

Bob was talking about something else.  He was speaking about how to know who a person really is in their core.  A person’s core isn’t revealed by their words.  It’s revealed by their actions, actions unobserved by most, and appreciated privately.  So, it’s only fitting that I learned about secretive acts of goodness in my own neighborhood during a warm conversation with Bella Dickerson and Kensie Sessions.

Bella and Kensie were engaged in a lively conversation with me about who we know in our neighborhood and how we could help them.  At first it seemed as if we were involved in one of those conversations in which meaningless words were being exchanged.  Then, Bella’s eyes opened wide with excitement.

“I know a widower!”  She cried out, as the sparkle in her eyes erupted.  “George!  He lost his wife and his horse this year!  I go with my family to visit him almost every week to make sure he’s well and we do things for him!”

I looked at her bright face.  I felt warmth and authenticity in her words and manner.  And, I felt a little embarrassed.

I had wondered who the widower she was speaking of was when she said, “I know a widower!”  When she said his name, “George,” It was with familiarity and affection.  And, I hadn’t visited with George since his wife’s funeral. I didn’t know he had lost his horse!

“There’s a difference.”  Bob Kirkman’s words echoed in my heart.  “People often say what they believe.  That’s different than living ethically.”

Bob was talking about people like Bella and her family. They do their speaking, while revealing who they are in their core, through their actions, actions unobserved by most, and appreciated privately by others, like George.  So, it’s only fitting that I learned about their secretive acts of goodness in my own neighborhood during a warm conversation with their enchanting Bella, a lover of people and horses.

You and I often have conversations where we tell other people what we believe.  Sometimes it’s as if we know exactly what to say.  We know what the “right” answer is for the current circumstance.  We say what we think others to want to hear.

Or, are we lovers of people (and horses) in our core?

Scraping Mountain Tops in the West

A seasonal change. Tasting winter.

Scraping Mountain Tops in the West

The sun was setting earlier in the day!  The temperatures had begun to say goodnight to above freezing warmth almost as soon as the sun scrapped across mountain tops in the west.  All of that meant it was time to install a heater in the water trough and change feeding patterns.  The foreseeable future was winter and its chill.

Foreseeing the future can be difficult at times.  Yet, there are always signs pointing to what’s coming.  When you and I pay attention to such signs we can make the transition to new conditions much easier.  And, some pay attention while others do not, because of comfortable habits.

Habit can be great.  Habit can be detrimental.  Are you and I paying attention to our own habits and weighing them?  Are we helping our significant others to ease their way through habit change when necessary? 

Some live their lives habitually without focusing on their changing environment.  Cows tend to live in such a pattern.

I walked to the back of my field yesterday.  There I saw my ever-faithful cows standing, waiting at their fall eating station.  They set their clocks to be at the right location at the right time.  They like to eat! 

When I arrived, I opened the barn and removed some flakes of hay and walked past them to their winter feeding station.  They didn’t follow!

They stood and watched.  I picked up more flakes and walked right past them toward the winter feeding station.  They stood and watched.  I picked more flakes in the barn and looked behind me.  They had begun to become agitated.  They poked their heads through the barn door and stretched for sweet bits of alfalfa.

“They will surely follow me now!” I mumbled to myself as I shut the barn door and walked past them again.

No!  They stood.  They waited.  They didn’t eat.  That’s when I knew I had to change my approach.

I walked back toward them so they could see me place a flake of hay on the ground.  It got their attention!  They began walking toward the hay with their watering mouths.  As soon as they got close, I picked up the flake and walked a little further.  I kept repeating this action four times until they got near the hay crib.  Then I tossed the flake into the crib and they bucked their way forward.  They ate there contentedly!

A contented life is a good life!  Would my cows have found the hay on the crib after a while?  Yes.  But, there was no need for them to live in agitation!   And, there is no reason for you and I to live in agitation either.  The question is whether we can overcome our own habits so we can move confidently into the future.  Perhaps it’s a skill we should all spend time developing?

My cows have also shown me that it’s a skill we need, and that we could to help others realize it as well.  In some cases, it will take some strategy, some coaxing to help those we love to see and respond to important signs of change.

We may need to show them that the sun was setting earlier in the day and that the temperatures have begun to say goodnight to above freezing warmth almost as soon as the sun scrapes mountain tops in the west.  All of that means it may be time to change some personal patterns so we can live contentedly in the future. 

The foreseeable future may be the chill of winter.  It also portends the excitement and rebirth of spring!

A Quality Foundation

“We were not only learning the facts of past human experience but also their meaning.”

- Calvin Coolidge

A Quality Foundation

“Why do we have Veteran’s Day?” The voice on the phone asked.

We were working to get her new home closed so she could spend the weekend getting settled in.  I could understand her frustration.  We had been pursing her dream of home ownership for months and it was about to come true.  About to come true, because the transaction couldn’t be finalized until the County Recorder’s Office opened again on Monday.  Yet, it was a short delay and a small price to pay for the true foundation supporting her soon to be home.  Her dream would come true because of principles lived by Veterans.

First, might does not make right, the end does not justify the means and expediency as a working principle is bound to fail.  Our Veterans have given us the chance to enjoy our homes and have confirmed that we are entitled to the rewards of our industry.  What we earn is ours, no matter how small or how great.  And, our possession of property carries the obligation to use it in a larger service to care for those who have served us first.

Second, all service provided to us by Veterans is the expression of intelligent action for a specified end, the promotion and protection of our lives and freedom.  All of their work, from the most menial service to the most exalted, is alike honorable.  That’s why we honor all Veterans alike.

Third, in time of crisis it’s easy for us to see the truth about the importance of Veterans. When a crisis is present, a Veteran’s importance obvious to everyone.  But, to remember them all the time, when it is not simply expedient, is what really saves us.  Such remembrance has a power of its own that is truly manifest in every great emergency.

Finally, the service of our Veterans is a demonstration of our equality.  Their service does not assume all are equal in degree, but all are equal in kind.  This is the precept resting on the foundation of democracy that cannot be shaken.  It justifies faith in our belief of, “we the people of the United States.”

In writing of his learning about this essential foundation Calvin Coolidge said, “We were not only learning the facts of past human experience but also their meaning.”

“Why do we have Veteran’s Day?” the voice on the phone asked.

“Because they are the builders of your home’s foundation.”  I replied.  “They’ve taught us the true meaning of life, that the only hope of perfecting human relationship is in accordance with the law of service under which people are not so solicitous about what they get as they are about what they give.”

Veterans have given each one of us a quality foundation.  Will we continue to build on it?