The Hungry Smokey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen the time came for me to have my own place Smokey and Nails were moved to very<\/em> greener pastures.\u00a0 They had some of the lushest pasture either of them had ever grazed.\u00a0 This was also just shortly after my mare Mariah had come into my life.\u00a0 When I was ready to move Mariah in with Smokey and Nails I was very concerned that Smokey would take a few chunks out of her and make her life miserable.\u00a0 Because of my setup I had to put her directly out with the boys to fend for herself.\u00a0 And to my great surprise, Smokey and Nails barely lifted their heads from the pasture when she ran in.\u00a0 They could have cared less.\u00a0 I was dumbfounded and then it dawned on me.\u00a0 For the first time in his life, Smokey was not worried about groceries.\u00a0 He had this huge lush pasture and all the food in the world to eat…at least in his perception.\u00a0 He no longer had a reason to fight.\u00a0 He no longer needed to be a bully.<\/p>\nI don’t mean to imply that Smokey wasn’t well taken care of prior to my bringing him home, he was but to horses that are designed to graze 18 hours of the day, being fed a few flakes of hay twice a day feels like they are being starved.\u00a0 And for Smokey, it went back further to when he was a young horse.\u00a0 He shared with me that he was often fed very small amounts of icky hay.\u00a0 His \u201cchildhood\u201d was abusive and he adapted by becoming very protective of his resources.\u00a0 Every time he was introduced to another horse at the boarding stable he became very aggressive, protecting what he saw as his precious few resources. Curious, I asked him, \u201cWhy is it different with Nails\u201d.\u00a0 He told me that he knew that Nails cared as much about his \u201cherd\u201d as he did about himself.\u00a0 As a natural born leader, Nails would not let Smokey starve and dear Smokey understood this.\u00a0 He also told me that from the first time he met me he knew that I would never hurt him either and so he put his trust in me.\u00a0 I am honored by this and always will be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today I asked Smokey what he might want to share about this experience.\u00a0 He replied \u201dWhen my basic needs are met, when I know I will be fed and cared for I am able to be relaxed and I don’t need to fight with others.\u00a0 It is only my fear that causes me to be aggressive.\u00a0 It is also important to me that those I look up to (now Miami) are strong leaders that care about the good of the herd. \u00a0And of course I do expect others to respect me and give me space.\u00a0 Sometimes I have to remind them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nSmokey is mirroring our world to us.\u00a0 This might seem obvious but I think it is one of those \u201cobvious\u201d things that we forget in the grip of fear.\u00a0 Our world is experiencing a great deal of financial, environmental and social turmoil. When we are afraid, hungry, fearing for our safety we become aggressive and sometimes even bullies.\u00a0 We behave in ways that aren’t very nice.\u00a0 And we forget that we all need space and respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear\u00a0is natural but it is not our nature<\/em>. We were designed to love not hate or judge.<\/p>\nWhat if we could see that others expressing anger are really just very scared?\u00a0 Could we imagine them as a small child or a puppy and see through those eyes? Could we show more compassion, give them a break or at least not take their anger personally? And how might they react if their anger was met with love and genuine compassion?<\/p>\n
What if we could see that when we<\/em> are angry, beneath our anger is fear or hurt?\u00a0 Could we be more compassionate with ourselves?\u00a0 Could we be gentle with ourselves as we might be with a child or a puppy?\u00a0<\/p>\nI will admit I get angry and I get territorial just like Smokey.\u00a0 But I am learning to observe this within myself and not act on the anger (well not usually) and to be more compassionate with myself and others.\u00a0\u00a0 I am convinced that in order for me to see peace in the world (which I desperately want) I need to find peace within myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that we are in an election year people\u2019s fear is in full gear.\u00a0 The mute button on my remote control will soon wear out.\u00a0 It truly breaks my heart to witness the lies, the hatred, the greed and the fear.\u00a0 This is not who we really are.\u00a0 This does not serve us or our planet.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Will you join me in making an effort to understand first?\u00a0 To be the peace?\u00a0\u00a0 To be the love?<\/p>\n
And finally, I leave you with a message from the Hopi Elders that was sent to me in an email at least 12 years ago.\u00a0 It helps me remember\u00a0how to\u00a0be in the world.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Message From the Hopi Elders<\/strong><\/p>\nThere is a river flowing now very fast.<\/p>\n
It is so great and so swift that there are those who will be afraid.<\/p>\n
They will try to hold on to the shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly.<\/p>\n
Know that the river has its destination.<\/p>\n
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above the water.<\/p>\n
And I say see who is there with you and celebrate.<\/p>\n
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves; for the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.<\/p>\n
Gather yourselves.<\/p>\n
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.<\/p>\n
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.<\/p>\n
We are the ones we have been waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My beautiful horse Smokey has his own take on the hunger games.\u00a0 He has taught me a lot about survival and coming from a place of lack.\u00a0 Today he’s sharing some of this with you too.\u00a0 But first let me go back a bit so you can get the full picture. Smokey came into my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,57],"tags":[63,75,96,114,159],"class_list":["post-429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","category-animal-communication","category-instinctual-nature","tag-aggression","tag-bullies","tag-fear","tag-horses","tag-the-hunger-games","post_format-post-format-gallery","entry","gs-1","gs-odd","gs-even","gs-featured-content-entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/wendywolfe.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/10\/wendysmokeyweb2.jpg\" "\\"wendysmokeyweb\\"")
<\/a>![<\/a>The Hungry Smokey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen the time came for me to have my own place Smokey and Nails were moved to very<\/em> greener pastures.\u00a0 They had some of the lushest pasture either of them had ever grazed.\u00a0 This was also just shortly after my mare Mariah had come into my life.\u00a0 When I was ready to move Mariah in with Smokey and Nails I was very concerned that Smokey would take a few chunks out of her and make her life miserable.\u00a0 Because of my setup I had to put her directly out with the boys to fend for herself.\u00a0 And to my great surprise, Smokey and Nails barely lifted their heads from the pasture when she ran in.\u00a0 They could have cared less.\u00a0 I was dumbfounded and then it dawned on me.\u00a0 For the first time in his life, Smokey was not worried about groceries.\u00a0 He had this huge lush pasture and all the food in the world to eat…at least in his perception.\u00a0 He no longer had a reason to fight.\u00a0 He no longer needed to be a bully.<\/p>\nI don’t mean to imply that Smokey wasn’t well taken care of prior to my bringing him home, he was but to horses that are designed to graze 18 hours of the day, being fed a few flakes of hay twice a day feels like they are being starved.\u00a0 And for Smokey, it went back further to when he was a young horse.\u00a0 He shared with me that he was often fed very small amounts of icky hay.\u00a0 His \u201cchildhood\u201d was abusive and he adapted by becoming very protective of his resources.\u00a0 Every time he was introduced to another horse at the boarding stable he became very aggressive, protecting what he saw as his precious few resources. Curious, I asked him, \u201cWhy is it different with Nails\u201d.\u00a0 He told me that he knew that Nails cared as much about his \u201cherd\u201d as he did about himself.\u00a0 As a natural born leader, Nails would not let Smokey starve and dear Smokey understood this.\u00a0 He also told me that from the first time he met me he knew that I would never hurt him either and so he put his trust in me.\u00a0 I am honored by this and always will be.\u00a0<\/p>\nToday I asked Smokey what he might want to share about this experience.\u00a0 He replied \u201dWhen my basic needs are met, when I know I will be fed and cared for I am able to be relaxed and I don’t need to fight with others.\u00a0 It is only my fear that causes me to be aggressive.\u00a0 It is also important to me that those I look up to (now Miami) are strong leaders that care about the good of the herd. \u00a0And of course I do expect others to respect me and give me space.\u00a0 Sometimes I have to remind them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nSmokey is mirroring our world to us.\u00a0 This might seem obvious but I think it is one of those \u201cobvious\u201d things that we forget in the grip of fear.\u00a0 Our world is experiencing a great deal of financial, environmental and social turmoil. When we are afraid, hungry, fearing for our safety we become aggressive and sometimes even bullies.\u00a0 We behave in ways that aren’t very nice.\u00a0 And we forget that we all need space and respect.\u00a0<\/p>\nFear\u00a0is natural but it is not our nature<\/em>. We were designed to love not hate or judge.<\/p>\nWhat if we could see that others expressing anger are really just very scared?\u00a0 Could we imagine them as a small child or a puppy and see through those eyes? Could we show more compassion, give them a break or at least not take their anger personally? And how might they react if their anger was met with love and genuine compassion?<\/p>\nWhat if we could see that when we<\/em> are angry, beneath our anger is fear or hurt?\u00a0 Could we be more compassionate with ourselves?\u00a0 Could we be gentle with ourselves as we might be with a child or a puppy?\u00a0<\/p>\nI will admit I get angry and I get territorial just like Smokey.\u00a0 But I am learning to observe this within myself and not act on the anger (well not usually) and to be more compassionate with myself and others.\u00a0\u00a0 I am convinced that in order for me to see peace in the world (which I desperately want) I need to find peace within myself.\u00a0<\/p>\nNow that we are in an election year people\u2019s fear is in full gear.\u00a0 The mute button on my remote control will soon wear out.\u00a0 It truly breaks my heart to witness the lies, the hatred, the greed and the fear.\u00a0 This is not who we really are.\u00a0 This does not serve us or our planet.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Will you join me in making an effort to understand first?\u00a0 To be the peace?\u00a0\u00a0 To be the love?<\/p>\nAnd finally, I leave you with a message from the Hopi Elders that was sent to me in an email at least 12 years ago.\u00a0 It helps me remember\u00a0how to\u00a0be in the world.<\/p>\n\u00a0Message From the Hopi Elders<\/strong><\/p>\nThere is a river flowing now very fast.<\/p>\nIt is so great and so swift that there are those who will be afraid.<\/p>\nThey will try to hold on to the shore.\u00a0<\/p>\nThey will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly.<\/p>\nKnow that the river has its destination.<\/p>\nThe elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above the water.<\/p>\nAnd I say see who is there with you and celebrate.<\/p>\nAt this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves; for the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.<\/p>\nGather yourselves.<\/p>\nBanish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.<\/p>\nAll that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.<\/p>\nWe are the ones we have been waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My beautiful horse Smokey has his own take on the hunger games.\u00a0 He has taught me a lot about survival and coming from a place of lack.\u00a0 Today he’s sharing some of this with you too.\u00a0 But first let me go back a bit so you can get the full picture. Smokey came into my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,57],"tags":[63,75,96,114,159],"class_list":["post-429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","category-animal-communication","category-instinctual-nature","tag-aggression","tag-bullies","tag-fear","tag-horses","tag-the-hunger-games","post_format-post-format-gallery","entry","gs-1","gs-odd","gs-even","gs-featured-content-entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendywolfe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/wendywolfe.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/03\/smokey-chasing.jpg\"){kind=link}