The Wind and the Sun, an Aesop's Fable
The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly, they saw a traveler coming down the road, and the Sun said, "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveler to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin." So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveler. But the harder he blew, the more closely did the traveler wrap his cloak round him, until at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveler, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.
We all seem to be in such a hurry these days, and kindness seems to be a casualty of our battle to keep up with the modern world. We replace tolerance with irritation and impatience. We replace quality time with a quick cell phone call that gets interrupted by another call, an appointment, or an email.
I’m working hard to appreciate the fact I’m not the only busy person in the world. It brings to mind the Aesop’s fable above. The lesson is that kindness affects others more than severity will. If we have a grievance with someone, it never hurts to approach them with kindness, rather than demands. I’m fortunate to have kind, patient people around me who continually make me realize the gift I truly have in my team. The work we do is important to me--to all of us here at the Northwest Horse Source--but it is the human quality of that work, the connection or potential for connection with other people, that pulls me out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5:30 every morning and makes me glad to face each day.
As the owner of Northwest Horse Source, I have a passion for educating our horse community in the Northwest. I am privileged to have a great group of writers that have helped me bring a wealth of information to our readers. My hope for you, as our reader, is that you learn different methods for enjoying your horse, for spending quality time with these animals that enrich our lives, and for sharing that kindness I mentioned above with your human and equine friends.
Our cover story this month is about an organization that would like to change the horse industry, not through "quick fix" solutions, but by building a community of people who help each other. With large parcels of land disappearing and increasingly limited access to our great trailheads, we need to be concerned about our options. Cowboy Campsite has provided us with an opportunity to enjoy some of this land in the Northwest. The story on page 6 will show you how they are taking this idea further, from preserving more land throughout the country to building a foundation that teaches horse charities and clubs to be more self-sufficient. From personal experience, I can tell you that this unique organization has a passion for the horse industry. A special thanks to Brian Trudeau, CEO of Cowboy Campsite, for all of the time and energy he put into my own business model. I am grateful for his kindness, and look forward to working with him in the future.
This past weekend, Deb (our editor) and I attended the Northwest Horse Fair and Expo in Albany, OR. Connecting with readers and advertisers is always something I enjoy. Patrick Hooks was one of the featured clinicians this year, and I once again had the privilege of watching him in action. I hope you’ve enjoyed his series of articles over the past few months, and I hope you're as excited as I am that we will be bringing him back for a new series in 2008.
We also shared some time with Alice Trindle of T&T Horsemanship as she visited with some of our readers in our booth in Albany. Her column, “Beyond the Basics,” (see page 44) has brought some wonderful insights into working with horses, and her willingness to share her knowledge and experience made her quite popular among the Expo visitors.
If you have a website and haven’t signed up for our Equine Marketplace Affiliate Program, I encourage you to visit www.nwhorsesource.com for more information. This is a potential revenue source for our readers and advertisers, based on leads generated from your website. The best part is that there is no cost involved for you!
I hope to meet up with you on a trail some day. Have a great month of May, enjoy this edition, and let us know your thoughts and concerns about upcoming issues in the horse industry that we can share with you. Remember to ride!
