It happens every year. The days get longer and there’s a rush of warmth, and I start to see the horses shedding. But just as soon as it begins, the weather cools and reminds us that winter will be here for another month or so. We have early narcissus flowers (daffodils) that often bloom around the middle to the end of February, and I’ve seen them do so with snow on the ground. That won’t happen this year, though they haven’t bloomed yet.
I worry when the horses start shedding this time of year. I know it’s going to get cold again, and when it does, I imagine they could use every hair they’re shedding. And yet, not only does this happen every year, but it no doubt happens to other herds, other horses, and the vast majority of them get through this time of the year just fine. As with many things in nature and on the farm, I’m left to wonder, what is the lesson for this within us?
I think the lesson is that we cannot shed that which we don’t need “too soon”, that shedding whether it’s a heavy winter coat or something we wish to release, happens in its own time, in its own way. And we need to honor that when it happens.
I’m encouraged to reflect on my own life and ask myself what do I need to shed right now? What is too much and too thick in my psyche that I need to release it so that I can step into the future unhindered and not overheated? These are the questions for my meditations. They are the things I will ponder.
And as we move into spring and the time of releasing so that we can grow and bud anew, I wonder, what can you shed too?
