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A Haflinger Lullaby
The best moment in the barn is in the evening just
following the hay feeding, as the Haflingers are settling down to
some serious chewing. I
linger in the center aisle, listening to the rhythmic sounds
coming from
each of 12 stalls. It is a most soothing contented cadence, first
their
lips picking up the grass, then the chew chew chew chew and a
pause and
it starts again. It's even better in the dark, with the lights
off, and
I've always enjoyed listening to the eating sounds at night from
the
remote vantage point of my bedroom camera/monitor system set up
to watch
my very pregnant mares before foaling. A peculiar lullaby of
sorts,
strange as that seems, but when all my horses are chewing and
happy,
I am at peace.
It reminds me of those dark deep nights of feeding my children,
rocking
back and forth with the rhythm of their sucking, humming hymns in
my
mind. It is a moment of being completely present and peaceful,
and
knowing at that moment, nothing else matters--nothing else at
all.
If I am very fortunate, each day I live has a rhythm that is
reassuring
and steady, like the sounds of my horses eating. I wake knowing
where
the next step will bring me, and live in each moment fully,
without
distraction by the worry of the unknown.
Reality is, life's rhythms are often out of sync, the cadence is
jarring, the sounds are discordant, and sometimes I'm the one
being
chewed on, so pain replaces peacefulness. Maybe that is why those
moments in the barn are so treasured. They bring me home to that
center
of myself that needs reminding that pain is fleeting and peace,
however
elusive, is forever. I always know where to find it for a few
minutes
at the end of every day. Someday heaven will be angel choruses of
glorious praise, augmenting a lullaby of horses eating their hay.
So
simple yet so grand.
Emily
http://www.briarcroft.com/emily.htm