Welcome To the Cedar Grove

Heart of heaven, heart of earth,
let our children and grandchidlren
live on this earth as long as the sun
moves across the blue sky above.

Let the sun come! Let the dawn come!
Let all people have peace,
let all people have happiness.
Let us all have peace and happiness.

Goddess, mother of the sun,
Goddess, mother of the light,
let dawn bring peace and happiness,
let your light shine in our hearts forever.

--Mayan prayer

We are never separate from this world in which we live. For this our foremothers gave constant thanks, and we should as well.

I'm sensing a theme here... and I don't mind that so much, except it sends me on a circle, or spiral of meditation that doesn't really go anywhere except over old ground.

I spoke yesterday about my thoughts on the connectedness of ourselves, as humans, with the Wheel of the Year... or rather on our lack of it. Will I repeat the same today or simply speak on the same with a varying theme?

I've spoken about recycling, and looking to conserving the world in which we live because we are all connected with each living thing and when we waste - we waste within and for ourselves as well.

All of these things have been the focus of my meditations before now, but what about our connection to other people, each other... our pets?

My mother is a strange one... there have been times in the past when she has known that there was something 'wrong' or that I was upset, even if we didn't live in the same house and see each other every day, (it occurs to me now as I type this that she may even have done so again now). I recall one time when I was living across the city from her and out of the blue she had called me up and asked if I was okay. I wasn't, and when I asked her how she knew, she said she had had a dream about me coming into her bedroom and standing at the bottom of her bed like I used to do when I was little and had had a bad dream or something.

Mir always knows too, through the manny connections on many levels that we share, when there is something going on... bad dreams, bad feelings - worries, but then again, she's one of the most 'connected' people I know. She is the rat-whisperer, she talks to the deer and they listen, interacts with the squirrels and other wildlife around - I envy that connection, that expression of love that pours from her in all these things. It makes sense to me then that with someone whom she loves and who loves her, she would feel the connection. It breaks my hear too, that she's so connected to everything that she can't stand to see even fictional depictions of injuries to animals - in a movie for instance. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly can't be easy. When we saw Warhorse recently, for example, there were many tears shed - and being closely interested in racing, if any of the horses are truly hurt, it is a heartbreaking thing to see.

It is an sure indication of a heart and mind connected with the world, with all life, and honestly something to be aspired to. I envy that connection, I wish that I could feel so deeply as that... even for all the pain that it brings - because the joys too, must be as intense.

From The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.

Before fixing what you're looking at,
check what you're looking through.

"Got a dirty eye, see a dirty world."

Had a fabulous day today - on the whole - watching the Kentucky Derby Undercard, and then the Derby itself. One thing that was underlined time and again was that people's perspectives, opinions and everything else that experience has them carry forward into the day; their expectations, coloured their participation and enjoyment in the day.

Someone once told me that the greatest obstacle to learning is "knowing" something already. I couldn't help but think about all these 'experts' who 'know' so much about horses, that do so badly with their picks for the race because they just don't look at and listen to the horses. They don't look at what is, just stubbornly cling to their expectations. Whatever did happen to actually listening to the athelete in a sporting situation. Sure they might not be able to talk to their trainers in words, in this instance, but they do talk and if you listen...

This is where I admire the jockeys a lot of the time. The ones that do listen to the horses - the ones that are able to balance their knowledge, experiences and expectations with listening, in communion with the horses. They're the ones that pull them up if they don't feel right - if anything happens.

Listening really does save lives.

( Workouts and Results )

Soldier's Dancer
Date: January 9, 2010
Track: CALDER RACE COURSE
Distance: Six Furlongs
Time: 1.17:00 Breezing
Track Condition: Sloppy
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 1/1

It's that time of year again, yep...

Breeder's Cup - and this time Zenyata's going to run against all the boys. Hopefully she'll kick their butts (not literally, but...)

Also Carolina are playing Duke at football. Tied right now, but you know how that kind of goes.

I think this is where I'm supposed to give a big shout of:

"TAR!"

It's been a while, so I thought I should update you all on my wonderful Hue Horses. Really, it's fun. You should go there.







Obviously Skychild Dynasty (the Jade with no markings yet) has only just been born. I need to give him his markings yet.

Lookie, lookie what I got....