From the Dark to the Light

In the distance is the outline of a man walking his horse; the bright arena lights however do not show color or the details of whom he is.  The horse follows quietly with his head low slowly swaying the reins side to side.  He methodically moves to his destination and in a few steps is out of my sight.  Walking on the edge of the shadow I never come to know who he is only the shape of his body and the willingness of his horse to follow.  Now vanished from my sight I ponder what is ahead for this team of mysterious nature.  The amazing 1000 pound animal and his 150 pound director. Off they go to work to train to find harmony, hoping that tomorrow they might win a chance to compete in the Finals and win a prize.  The work of a night at the horse show.

Often I fill we travel on the edge of light moving forward striving to come to something great.  Others sit farther in the darkness and question, judge, support, mock. Some rest inside the lighted arena already part of the great chase for fame and fortune.  The practice pen will determine in large part how things will go tomorrow.  Yet often the worst night before becomes the greatest run of ones life in the morning.  Sometimes it’s a long walk from the stalls to the pen and an even longer walk back to the same stall after.  Regardless of outcomes there always is a walk.

Right now a lot of folks are sitting in the dark waiting.  A few have already won a prize and gone home while others are pounding it out trying to find success tomorrow. I do see though long periods of no one taking a walk. It is inherently obvious that to get to the practice pen to get ready to show we need to walk.  So why are you sitting in the dark by the stall wondering who is that dark silhouette walking.  Why are you not saddled up and walking?  In my particular case at the moment the practice pen is only open to riders who show tomorrow so I have to wait until 11:00 p.m.  This however is reality my thoughts are more figurative.

When is it time to move forward and put the things that trouble us in the past?  The obvious answer is now, but what if the arena is closed to us at the moment because its not our turn, what do we do as we sit and wait?  Clean stalls, read a book, visit with friends and call the wife. When that is done we write in a blog read another book visit with another friend, all the while doing something but not moving toward what we want we are just waiting.  But then again there is a right time for action and is it now?

I am starting to understand there is a time and a season for everything.  There is a time to practice, a time to show. There is always a time to clean stalls.  There is a time in our life we need to struggle, financially, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  We do this so when the season for money, spirituality, health and success come we embrace them and make the most of them.  Sometimes it really sucks sitting in the bad waiting for the season of the good, but just as 11:00 will come in just under an hour so to will the good times.  The great depression created the greatest generation, I know the great recession will aid in producing another great generation if when the time comes we get in the practice pen, then give it our all in the show pen.  Life is a season for gaining wisdom; we are gaining a lot right now.  Sometimes we need to just look a little harder at how to get from the dark stalls to the light.  We all however have drew up at a certain time and when it’s our turn we will be ready, as long as we take that walk from the dark to the light.