The World Is A Safe Place!

Do you have those moments where you don't believe what you are seeing?

Do you know that feeling when you watch something happening in front of you and think 'any moment now someone is going to jump out with a camera saying "smile you are on TV?"'.... It happened to me last week!

I was driving past the field of 12 neglected horses (see earlier posts;Kindness or turn a blind eye and Charity support down, Angels on the up), when I couldn't believe my own eyes!  All the horses were gathered quietly together, heads down in feed buckets... EATING!

Horsey people who have witnessed horses being neglected and left in fields will know the significance of this find, and understand my shock.  I drove home, dumped the car, then ran back down the road to the field.  I needed to watch and study. 

Like an undercover spy on a stakeout I hid in the hedgerow and watched.  I could see two people, walking between the horses, a man and a woman.  Its funny how by just watching how people walk and stand you can tell they are 'ok', safe to approach.   It was clear that they were familiar with horses and comfortable around them.  They had spread the buckets out at a safe distance and there was a peaceful atmosphere about the herd. 

There and then I decided I was going to go over and meet these people - whoever they were.  I ran back home, got the car and drove round to where I had recently been accessing the field out of view of the road.

A small car was parked where I park!  I climbed the gate as they were walking back and we met. 

A couple of hours later after a lot of like minded talking, we arranged to meet again - same time, same place the next day.

Turned out we had a lot in common:

- a love of horses
- our own horses
- a desire to help neglected, hungry horses
-a sense of despair and frustration at the lack of resource and hope provided by animal Charitys
-a desire to open our own 'rescue centres' if and when funds allow

etc etc.

More than that we also had a shared sense of  compassion towards animals.  We all had connections to Reiki and healing and our own stories about the amazing synchronicity of life when you are on the 'right path', such as now and finding each other helping these horses. 

Before this encounter neither of us knew of each other's existance.  Independently we had thought we were the only ones doing something! 

It just goest to show you never quite know what you DONT see!  Eyes wide shut kind of concept!  It's amazing to me, given how many times a day I pass this field, that  I never saw these people in there before.  But, nothing happens until the time is right and we are in the 'right emotional, mental space' to see it and learn from it.

What else is right infront of us waiting to be discovered?

Every day since, this chance encounter, this mother and son have turned up with 12 buckets of feed including stud mix for the pregnant mares. They arrive with haylage and spread that out for the horses.  Every day!

Seems that they used to watch and feed these horses, then, to use their words, they 'took their eye off them' and were helping another field of horses.  They had only recently  come by the field again and seen the condition of the horses. Even more weird - the day that the grey horse was shot by the RSPCA one of these two kind souls was actually there, with the mare and cried buckets for her needless loss. 

Small world!

So, I had seen these people before, I just didn't actually SEE them!  If you know what I mean!  In the heat of emotion of a horse's life ending, its amazing where our senses and emotions turn and what else they blind us to.  Anger, rage, loss, despair blind us to the love and compassion that is there at the same time!

Quote from The World Is a Safe Place by Jim White

This chance encounter has restored my faith in people and  in mankind.  I used this example in a conversation with a friend on the phone last night.  I was trying to find words to explain how I am learning (these last few months) that as Lao Tzu says ...

"you have to know darkness in order to enjoy light" 

(this is my translation of his words) 

Without darkness, bad, evil, or problems, there can be no opposite; light, goodness, kindness, and solutions.  We have to push through the darkness, create our own path with the right intentions behind it, and have faith that the light will be there to shine when we come out the other side.    

My experiences over the last 3 months suggest that I'm not sure you actually have to have a lot of faith in the first place, but perhaps as long as you have compassion and respect for life, faith will find you!   

There is an inspirational book called The World Is A Safe Place by Jim White, from whom I have taken the title of this post.  Its a great inspirational read of images, quotes and concepts.  It's based on a true story. 

www.theworldisasafeplace.com

Here are just a few of the powerfully thought provoking images and messages you'll find on the website and in his book.

Over the last 3 weeks, I've posted a lot about one thing: MIRACLES!  Be that the health issues with myself and my mother, that have miraculously fixed, healed or simply disappeared.  Or the miraculous amount of help offered by total strangers to help me feed horses in need.  Finally the miracle of the World being a Safe Place.  

Other amazing things are happening right now, which i'll share as they unfold.  I for one, never expected to be writing about miracles, let alone believing in them!

Good versus Bad and the unknown Others

What do you see first...?   

Good, Evil or both?

 

What we see impacts how we live, what we do, what we think and how we feel!

Many girls like myself went to bed with Fairy Tales littered with battles between Good and Bad, white and black witches, young girls and evil step parents - where victory usually fell to the "Good"!

Then, we grew up and gradually realised that the Tales were flawed; the just deserts don't always go to the 'good girls and boys'. 

In my quest to find a better more natural way of living with my small horse herd I've come across wonderful people, horses, places, inspiring thinking and heart warming stories. I've also come across stories, videos, and in some cases real life encounters with people I'd class as in the 'bad' camp.   Then once in a while Ive stumbled on stories so sad or situations so dire, that it has pulled me down, deep into an inner debate about the future of man kind and our value add to the planet.  Last month, the plight of horses left to die in Fosse Park, Leceistershire was one such true story.

It's left me wondering, is there more good than bad out there?  Do we have a future as a compassionate responsible planet, nation and community?

The dawn of 2012 and the prophecies that it would be "the end of the world" was not about the world ending in its physical form, as per some interpretations, but it was about humans ceasing to be the way we are, and finding a new, more enlightened way. It  was a prophecy about our spiritual evolution.  Not God or Allah but spirituality meaning our ability to connect with everything around us, become more of who we are and value all living creatures - two or four legged, winged, scaled, black or white.

It was predicting an important 'tipping point' in our evolution where we would start to consciously choose a dark existence or light, despair or hope, negativity or positivity.  2013 and the years ahead, are about an  'energetic shift' away from struggle towards a more fulfilling existence. 

In summary, on December 21st, 2012 (always an important day for me as it's my birthday) the scales would tip - one way or the other, towards black or white.  It would set the course for our future.

A year on and I'm still wondering do we know how to make that shift?  A life spent in comfy co-existence with hurt, blame and punishment isn't easy to shed.  So, will it all 'turn out ok' at the end of the day? What's the evidence for or against?  Certainly, the start of 2014 has felt very mixed to me.

The dawning of the Year of the Horse gave me cause to celebrate in the hope of inheriting or aspiring to emulate some of the energies implicit in the horse - his/her energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent spirit born to be free and expressive.

So far this year has been a year of having my eyes opened to another reality.   A place where humans are steeped in cruelty, disregard, violence and punishment.  Seeing videos and images showing animals (not just horses) on the receiving end of our in-humanity is utterly sickening.  Learning that people whose work we have followed don't practise what they preach can fill us with disbelief as we suddenly question our beliefs .... "well if he or she can't walk their own talk, what hope do I have"?

In a previous blog I've freely admitted my own cowardice at facing unpleasantness, in life!  At times because it feels too overwhelming to become fully aware of the details of atrocities that families, animals, nations suffer, on a daily and hourly basis.  (Did you know in Africa an elephant is killed by poachers every 15 minutes because humans want their tusks)!  How did we stoop to such an all time low?

But then, with each recorded 'plight' there is a silver lining.  Usually in the shape of a Good Samaritan.   It so often starts with a single human being, deciding (or spontaneously) moving to act!  Add some bravery and willingness to be outspoken and suddenly there are followers, public awareness and a campaign to change things for the better.  The Fosse Park plight is one such instance with a peaceful protest now planned for April 16th in London.  (For details see my facebook post).

Being honest, it can be too easy to switch off the play button on the video, walk away from the horse tied to a stake without food or water, or ignore a mother's violence towards her child.  These are those 'black' moments and it is a conscious choice we make each time we do nothing.

When we find ourselves thinking 'we can't make a difference' - we can!  Mark with the Fosse Park horses has demonstrated this so very clearly, it all started with the compassion and love felt by one man towards horses in plight.

In Joe Camp's book 'Born Wild' he lists American women fighting in the law courts the unlawful activities of the Bureau of Land Management and their violation of the wild Mustangs.

Authors, bloggers, speakers and trainers who really want change are not afraid to voice their opinions; thank goodness!  It won't mean they are all right, or all of the time.  As Ive written before, if it makes you want to run away from their version of the truth, maybe we should linger a little longer, just long enough to question what deeper truth we are trying to avoid by turning away. Oftern there is an important life lesson for us to be learnt. Yet, at the same time I continue to urge us all (at the same time as being open), to also be discerning and evaluative enough to find out our own individual 'truth'.  Notice what we are drawn towards and what resonates with us, and what does not.

Better to be curious and discerning versus closed and blind; following like the proverbial Lemming without stopping to think why and what else is out there? 

Bottom line, one of the worlds best selling all times book The Law of Attraction holds a tight belief that what we expect, desire and believe in will manifest itself.

If we believe we are unlovable, chances are we will be on our own.  If we don't believe in commitment we'll fall in love with partners who leave us or are married and aren't free to be with us in the first place!  If we view the world as a favourable place (see one of my life long friends work, book, blog The World is a Safe Place), we will find much to be happy about.  If we believe the world is un-favourable 'life's a bitch and then you die' we're likely to find lots of uphill struggles along the way.

So to a large degree, what is around us; Good versus Evil, will be a mirror reflection of our view of the world.  It will grow along with the growth of positive or negative thoughts and feelings emitted by us, our friends and family, neighbours, colleagues and countrymen.  We,  singularly and cumulatively will impact what is around us.  We can therefore, chose to believe (and will find evidence to back it up) that every fallen horse  is a reason to give up and give in, believing we are alone in our angst and unable to fight it.  Or, we can see it as an opportunity to bring into view all those unknown good Samaritans out there, waiting to make a difference!

We will still face a year of frustration but alongside it we can nurture gratitude and appreciation. Starting with ourselves, today, and, allow it to grow for the benefit of us all, and so many unknown Others.

For me personally, I owe a massive debt of gratitude to an 'Other'  known simply to me as "Mark the Fosse Park man" with a heart and a willingness to act that has restored my faith in the Unknown Others out there waiting for their calling.  I hope that includes me too.