Monday, December 7, 2009

Trilogy of the trail

The voice of the trail rider is spoken not in words but hoof beats even and smooth along a well worn trail. We speak softly. We do not scream. We are there for the silence, for little more than the sound of the wind through the trees and the powerful breath thrusting from the chest of our horse. We are there for the silence within our minds that finds this soothing yet exhilarating melody through riding, the unity of being together, being there, being present, at such an ease that allows us to so simply forget all those worries left far behind, long ago, if only at the trailhead.

We are there to listen more than to speak. Our voice is the unspoken words between horse and human and the wild world we roam through, if even just for this ride.

It is the trilogy of the trail that draws us: human, horse, and nature. Much more than the individual parts, it is the blend, the balance, the merging that happens when the three are together as one.

Trilogy of the trail. I think of this, of the three separate and unique elements uniting, and the voice that sings from… what is it? The land, the rider, the contented horse?

Listen... it is a harmony sung only in unison of the three. A quiet song, whispered only on the trail.