May 8, 2017
I was asked to post this article again.
Don't Drag a Dead Horse Across the Desert!!!
It will kill you!!
In Transitions, Making Sense of Lifefs Changes by William Bridges, the transitions of life have three distinct stages (Ending, Neutral Zone and Beginnings). Bridges states we have a life time of transitions (i.e. births, deaths, marriage, graduation, employment). However, it is very important to understand that before you can begin a new phase of your life, you must end the old phase. An ending is actually the first phase of the transition process and a precondition of self-renewal. You must end before you can begin. Many times the endings are ones dealing with negative past experience and thoughts.
Don't let the past control your future. Remember this "Don't drag a dead horse through the desert. The burden will kill you - your spirit." The dead horse represents past experiences - which may incorporate the demons that haunt you - your anger - your fears. The desert is part of your life journey. If you drag your fears, your anger, your negative past experiences through your life journey, it will destroy you.
Now some people when they realize they have a dead horse will:
• blame society for the dead horse
• form a committee to determine why the horse died
• daily curse the dead horse and cry
• move the horse to another location in hopes the horse will revive itself
• lie down and die next to the dead horse in depression
• get a stronger whip to beat the dead horse
• sue the dead horse
• drag the dead horse through the hot desert and die
My American Indian friends taught me that you take what you can from the dead horse and move on. You take the hide of the horse to shield you from the heat of the sun during the day and keep you warm from the cold of the desert at night. You can take any sustenance (i.e. heart, liver) from the horse to help nurture you. In other words you take the learnings (what can keep you moving forward) from the dead horse and move on. The horse is dead - the experience is dead - it no longer exists. Every ending is a new beginning.
