Recently, a Generator client shared a personal experience that is an excellent metaphor for a better way to handle challenges in life!
This Generator is a 2/5 profile and has all 9 of her energy Centers Defined—which is relatively rare.
She owns a horse and has been learning to ride him bareback and without a bridle. The life lesson she took from this process was so profound that I wanted to share it with you.
When she learned how to urge her horse to trot, things of course got bumpy. The natural reaction to being atop a trotting horse (without a saddle!) is to grip tighter with the knees, which is what she did.
But, a tighter knee grip signals the horse to go faster, so things quickly got even bumpier.
Her trainer told her to relax, not tighten. This was so counter-intuitive that she really had to work at accomplishing this. But when she did, things changed dramatically.
When she stopped resisting the horse’s movement (and the bumpiness), the ride actually got LESS bumpy… and a lot more enjoyable (for both her and the horse!). She was able to move WITH the horse rather than try to compensate AGAINST the horse’s movement.
What a profound message! When our lives get bumpy and unpredictable, our usual reaction is to resist. We tighten up, get stressed, try to compensate, and don’t go with the flow–because we think that THAT flow isn’t the flow we want.
What if we could actually RELAX instead? What if the flow–even if bumpy–IS the correct flow for us and when we relax and let it unfold, it smooths out and we can see its value for us.
But relaxing in the face of “unwanted” things in life will seem counter-intuitive at first. We mistakenly believe that we must resist in order to send a message to the universe that we don’t want this particular bumpiness. What usually happens? Things usually get bumpier!
We get more stressed, more resistant, more angry, and often feel powerless. What if relaxing and going with the flow is actually the best way to take back our power?!?!?!
And what if simply applying our Strategy and Authority is the best way to begin to trust ourselves and to learn to relax… even in the face of a bumpy ride!
It’s easier to “course-correct” when you’re in motion rather than from a standstill. Going with the flow and accepting what IS doesn’t mean you are settling or giving up. It actually gives you the power of using existing momentum to course-correct as you move forward… so you can move beyond the bumpiness, create what you DO want, and not get stuck in resistance or resignation. Of course, the correct way to “create” what we want is by using our Strategy and Authority.
I’ll be experimenting with this. I invite you to try it, too. And let me know what you learn from it!
This was very helpful for me during this time, thank you! I’ve saved a few of your blog articles to read later, too. Yesterday I watched the Money in Human Design video by Karen which also helped a lot. Then today while perusing your blog I read that she is your mentor in H.D. That’s so awesome as so far I resonate with both of y’all.