What does it mean when we practice being accepting and compassionate when we stay mindfully aware of what is happening in the present moment? Maintaining these two attitudes during mindfulness practices means that you aren’t fighting with the way things actually are. Acceptance and compassion will help you notice what is happening, note that it may not be ideal or what you had expected, but still decide to work with it anyway. Being attentive to things in a compassionate waycan be hard to understand sometimes. One way of grasping this notion is to think about taking a gentle approach when you start to feel critical of either yourself or your horse. Mistakes can happen, things can be misunderstood, and this is all part of the lifelong learning that every horse person experiences. There is so much to learn about horses that the learning never stops.
When you notice that you are criticizing yourself or your horse, that’s a cue for you to switch into a gentler approach towards both of you. This is one way of expressing grace. Why? Well, generally speaking, staying critical and harsh isn’t helpful. The intense emotions and judgments associated with criticism fill up your awareness, making it hard to focus on anything else happening in the moment. Everyone goes through struggles, and the key is working through them without getting caught in the negativity of judging—by accepting the struggles and being compassionate. We believe you can be compassionate to yourself and your horse, while at the same time adopting the role of a fair, calm leader.