Wild ponies and peaceful donkeys

Which energy do you need right now? / Issue 1,520

Oh, hi friends!

Here we are again!

I want to tell you about two creatures that Colin and I encountered during our trip to England.

We went to London and saw two shows (Here We Are…for the third time…and Giant, a new play about the life of Roald Dahl, starring John Lithgow, excellent!!).

Then we took a train south to the New Forest for a couple days of biking.

The tracks were crushed gravel. The weather, perfect.

And guess what? Spring is baby season.

Wild ponies roam the New Forest, as they have for hundreds of years.

So we biked and waited and then there it was:

A wild baby pony. (Or is it a baby wild pony?)

Anyway, it was INCREDIBLY CUTE.

Can you even handle it?!

He galloped and followed his mom and enjoyed the uncharacteristically sunny day.

This pony had ENERGY. He seemed excited by everything, even flopping in the grass.

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So there’s another animal that roams through these hundreds of acres.

Many miles later, we were biking through a nearby town…

And there it was.

The donkey.

Watched him for five minutes. Didn’t move an inch.

Now, this donkey was…very still. Chill. Was he dead? No, I saw breathing. Alive. But he wasn’t in a hurry. Didn’t seem to have a major agenda for the day.

He was enjoying the sun, same as the baby pony, just in a more…relaxed way.

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Of course I thought, I’m going to write a newsletter about these two.

Because I’ve been both the wild pony and the peaceful donkey. (Haven’t you?)

Some moments, I’m overcome by possibility — frolicking in the wildflowers! Full of action and energy!

Other moments, I need stillness. To deeply consider my next move. To relax.

Both animals are who they are.

And maybe that’s the lesson.

Embracing where we are and what we need in the moment — during a long stretch or over the span of a single morning — might be the best way to enjoy the expansive, green, abundant forest of life.

The New Forest = five stars!