I recently drove by a lovely local farm outside of Festus, MO and stopped to admire the gentle horses and curious donkey. These beautiful creatures reminded me of a thought-provoking story R-7 native, Robert (Rob) Chance told me.
Rob shared that his grandfather spoke about a little boy who was asked to stay in an 8’ x 8’ horse stall with a heap of horse poo, piled nearly as tall as him. After 10 minutes, the boy came out, furious, frustrated, disgusted and upset that he was in a space with that much horse poo for so long.
Another itty-bitty boy, of the same age, was in the exact same situation, within an 8’ x 8’ stall, next to a giant mound of horse poo. The boy spent his time in the stall, digging with determination and flinging poo everywhere. After 10 minutes, when asked what he was doing, the boy lit up, smiled and inquisitively said,
“With all this poo, there must be a pony in here somewhere!”
Perhaps we are dealing with more poo in our lives than we would like. Much of how we cope and navigate through the poo is relational to the perspective that drives our persistence to get through.
May we all try to find the pony within the poo in our life. Happy Pony Digging.
Thank you, Rob, for recalling this unforgettable story.
Learn more about local native, Rob Chance:
Interact with real horses in our local area:
Rusted Spur Stables – A Sanctuary to Reset, Restore, and Recharge
