Power is a Horse

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Or so they say, reminding us that wishing and begging are two flavors of the same thing: being squarely rooted in lack, with no activity to bring about gain and an accompanying air of not deserving the gain being sought.

If beggars and wishers alike are horseless, what is the nature of the horse? In her book Medicine Cards, Jamie Sams writes about Horse as a teacher of power, a connection that resonates well with this adage. Power is what's missing when name a goal or desire but do nothing to achieve it.

In their vision statement, the non-profit group known as the Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society (DTMMS) identifies power as a horse as well, along with beauty, knowledge, and freedom - the defining qualities that bring about a better world. Again, this is not just about waiting for things to get better - it's about making it happen.

One of the teachings of the Sweet Medicine SunDance Path (the spiritual lineage of DTMMS) looks at what it takes to master power. The secret? The Teacher of Loneliness. Hmmm.

On the surface, loneliness seems a bad thing - it certainly gets a bad rap. Loneliness is something we try to fix or solve, a state we try to avoid.

But in truth, loneliness is unavoidable. Our lives are so uniquely ours, there is no way to exactly align with another's. And really - isn't that a relief?

Meanwhile, birth and death are things we must do on our own; it's in the grand design. And though we may fear them because they are unknown, deep down isn't there a quiet knowing of just how utterly precious they are?

So, loneliness is a given, and there's something precious about it. But what? How about this: when we're lonely we don't even have the option of trying to please someone else. Being born and dying are audacious acts that are not performed for any other human being - they are fundamentally our own. And every lonely moment in between is the same story - when I'm the only one around, I'm the only one left to please.

Power is facing the depth of my own desire and purpose, stripped of the distractions of who I think I should be for others. Power is a horse we were each born to ride.