Horsing Around ...

So we had a visitor this morning. We'd seen him around before. That's not unusual. There are a lot of horses on the island. I will call them wild because no one owns them, not because of their nature. They are beautiful and gentle animals.

Now this guy is not in great shape. He is rather old and rather skinny. And hungry. Clearly he is hungry, as his visible rib cage can attest to.

I love this island. Grand Turk is small and charming and to a large degree unspoiled by tourism. And there are so many animals that wander the roads, the fields and the beaches. And they can teach you things. Things about nature, things about yourself.

My daughter Kira had a lesson today in compassion and sharing what you have with others in need. In this case, it was this old pony. Within five minutes, she had him eating out of her hand and she was able to pet him. She gave him water and more food. In fact, she gave him all the vegetables in our fridge .... all of them. Every. Single. One.

And that is fine with me. Most of us have more than we know what to do with and we need a lesson about caring for others and seeing their needs.

So she fed him and watered him and stroked him. And then she asked me for gloves so that she could pick the burrs out of his mane. And she talked to him. She carried on a conversation with him and he looked at her and I swear he understood what she was saying. He certainly understood her tone because there was no fear in his eyes, only gratitude (at least it looked that way to me).

We are never too old to be reminded how to treat others, whether animal, human or nature itself. Today I looked at my daughter and I felt that in some small way she made a difference. And my heart smiled.

Enjoy your day!