Less is more

Devote yourself to your heart's desire with unflagging shrewdness. Make it your top priority. Let no lesser wishes distract you. 
But consider this, too. You may sabotage even your worthiest yearning if you're maniacal in your pursuit of it.
Bear in mind the attitude described by Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her book "Women Who Run with the Wolves:" "All that you are seeking is also seeking you. If you sit still, it will find you. It has been waiting for you a long time."
- http://bit.ly/Pronoia

"Less is More" is my mantra for 2013. This is the third year that I have had the goal of finishing a 100 mile ride with Luba. Three time's a charm?

First lesson was taught to me by M&M. Sue invited me for a mellow resolution ride on New Year's day. I rode M&M, her FEI horse. Seen it, done it, been there, got the T-shirt. Tied him to the trailer to tack up. He calmly starts emptying the hay net. Don't waste an opportunity to eat. We rode out last, behind Sue/Hummer and Angie/Stella. M&M knew this was a mellow ride and he wasted no energy. No spooking, no looky looky, no wanting to go faster than the walk. You could put a 5 year old on him and he would take good care of her. Fast forward to the following weekend at the Bumblebee Lead, Follow or Get out of my Way Endurance Ride. M&M and Sue win the 50 and BC.

Being in a sunny clime also meant no excuses to get my running program back on track. I ran with Steph, on my own and with Ross.  Started with pyramid running - run 1 minute, walk 1 minute, run 2 minutes walk 1 minute up to 5 or 6 minutes and then down the same controlled way. The next thing you know, running 5 kms with few or no walking breaks is totally do-able.  The magic of progressive conditioning. Make haste slowly.

Less is more with Masterson Method as well. At a weekend workshop in Tucson, I learned that sometimes the biggest releases come from the lightest touch - even just "air gap".  Breathe and soften. Wait for the release. Let the horse come to you.

Same message from Sokolowski clinic I audited last weekend, hosted by Seaway Valley Arabian Horse Association. Let the horse move you. Don't work so hard. Let your body be loose.  Keep springy legs and soft hands, soft eyes. Softly gaze in the direction you want to go (drishti).

In his new book, Endurance: A French Perspective, Leonard Liesens writes about Jack Begaud's uncanny ability to pick a good horse. "When people tell him he was there at the right time, Jack answers with an Arabian maxim borrowed from his sponsor [Sheikh Mohammed]: 'The one catching the bird was hidden in the bush with an open hand'".

So, I am keeping an open hand. I wonder what I will catch?