Things did not start out so smoothly for newcomer Silver Cloud and Holly the zebra.
Silver had a paddock to himself for the first week or so. That way he would have a chance to settle in and recover from the trip without the stress of being integrated into the herd. Unfortunately, he shared a fence with Holly and grandfather Thunder. And almost immediately, Silver charged the strange smelling striped horse on the other side of the fence.
I have to admit, that this sent waves of panic and resentment through me. Despite my resolution to trust Holly and the herd with the adjustment I was already concerned about the new addition to the herd, and he had in a way confirmed my fear that most horses are unable to accept something as strange as Holly. I knew that every precaution was being taken to protect both Holly and Silver while introductions were made, but I was still concerned that Silver would never accept her. And more then that that it put her in danger.
As I shared in the first ‘Someone New’ blog, I have accepted into my reality an understanding that sometimes my ‘zebra-ness’ is unnerving and that I am cautious when approaching and meeting new people out of the fear of being rejected or attacked. But I also shared what I believed Holly knew about the situation and my predictions about how she would handle it.
As I waited to see what effects the charge from Silver had had on Holly I was surprised, or maybe not so surprised, to see that Holly never seemed hurt or afraid. In fact, Holly spent most of the next few days following Silver up and down the fence line. Almost daring him to continue to be afraid of her. What I saw Holly display was courage and confidence the face of Silver’s fear. But I also saw her refusal to accept his fear as being real. She was patient and understanding, but also determined to find the real Silver and to show him the real Holly. I know that this is just the beginning of Holly and Silver’s relationship, just a part of the whole story.
I also know that this is a deep lesson for me, and that I am far from understanding it completely. I wonder how Holly’s lesson about confidence in the face of fear will be important to me?
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