There once was a horse called Horris.
Horris was very hungry. He wanted fresh, lush, green grass. If he was really honest, he actually wanted to try different types of fodder, not just grass. He was ready for something a little tastier than what he was used to.
He stood in the field and looked ahead. All he saw was brown, dry grass. Not at all appetising, I’m sure you’ll agree! However, he thought if he kept trotting the same path, up and over the hills in front of him he might find what he was looking for. He could see other horses heading over the hills. Surely if he followed them he would find what he was looking for.
There is something you must know about Horris the horse. Unfortunately, Horris was lumped with those blinkers that some horses wear, you know the type that people put on horses to stop them seeing left and right and behind, to block their peripheral vision, so they can only see the narrow path in front of them. Horris’ view was blinkered. His perspective was narrowed. His view of reality was limited.
Sad, because actually if Horris didn’t have his blinkers on, he would have realized that to the left of him was a field full of fresh maze, to the right was a field full of oats, and behind him, if only he had turned to fully see it… were acres of lush, fresh, green grass, more than Horris could possibly eat in a lifetime.He trotted forward, but still all he found was more brown, dry grass. This was not what he wanted. He was full of dismay.
Are you Horris?
Do you have blinkers on? Are you seeing all possibilities?
Does the path ahead look appetising? If yes, great! If not, then look left, look right, look around, look behind, look up, look down – metaphorically speaking… 0pen your eyes and see what you may not currently be ‘seeing’.
Your perspective on the path ahead may be only one perspective of reality; there are plenty of different versions and views of exactly the same situation, of exactly the same reality. It’s all about what direction you’re facing, as to what you can see.
Here’s a real life example. I was driving along the road. It was dusk. The road ahead was dim, the light was fading and the road looked grey. An autumn chill was in the air. I was staring straight ahead (very good thing to do whilst driving!) As I rounded a bend in the road and came out from behind a little hillside, something caught my attention in the side mirror of the car. A bright orange flash… and then I saw it, a whole different perspective on exactly the same reality, in exactly the same place, at exactly the same time. I would have missed it had I not glimpsed it from a different perspective. A burning bright orange sunset gleamed brilliantly behind me, casting long rays of light over the ocean, lighting up the evening sky. I glanced forward again – grey scene at dusk. I glanced in the side mirror – bright orange beautiful light shining from above. Same reality, different perspective.
Sometimes if we move ourselves slightly in terms of how we view things, we see things we never saw before, we realise that ‘reality’ all comes down to our perspective, and in fact there are endless possibilities and endless perspectives available to us.
Do you want to be Horris the blinkered horse in the brown, dry field, on a dusky grey evening? Or do you want to reach your full potential with every perspective and possibility available to you as you stand in the brilliance of the bright orange light shining down on you?
Whilst I like horses and Horris is admittedly a pretty cool retro name, I’m putting my hand up for the ‘seeing all the possibilities in the bright orange light’ option, not that stinky dry field whilst wearing naff old blinkers.
