My Therapist

Driving home last night my head bobbled up and down and side to side with wild thoughts of doubt and perplexity. Looking to the past for clues on how to approach a budding relationship rarely delivers, and the future is yet unspoken, so its wisdom and insight lies unseen. All there is to do is be calm, as the central point of entry for the pebble dropped into the rippling water of a life scenario. Plop. The circles radiate outward and I want to chase them to and fro, to figure it all out, but instead I sit. There are tactics for dealing with such ripples to maintain inner sanctum. I turn on the classical music station. The rain-like dripping of a piano solo takes the edge off. Suddenly, I know exactly who to speak with: My Therapist.

I exit the freeway and head towards him. It’s late, but I know that even unannounced he will greet me warmly. I haven’t been to see him in years, although he is always there, awaiting my arrival. I pull into the parking lot and my headlights flash on many pairs of large doe eyes. The horses.

I greet them with a pat on the nose as I walk directly to Noa. My Therapist is lying down in his stall slumbering. He sits up and watches my approach as I walk over and sit down in the dirt beside him. With golden mane and his pale yellow coat he looks like a unicorn in the moonlight. I hold his velvet face in my hands and breath in the smell of comfort. The smell of horses. He gums my hands playfully and sniffs the smells of dog from my clothes. I scratch and massage him all over like the fat king that he is and he basks in the attention.

Behind him I kneel and drape myself over his huge belly like a polar bear cub and he lets me. A visit to my gigantic, beastly therapist was all that I needed to set my heart alight again and free my little sparrow spirit from the confines of confusion. With gratitude for his presence in my life I hug him goodbye, and exit his office. I visit his associates before heading back to my car: Cracker Jack, Sierra, Trouble, Cloudy and Sassy. They all greet me with equal warmth and playfulness.

Nothing soothes my heart like the presence of horses, and it never fails, no matter where I find myself. From Colorado to Mexico, Switzerland and China, I have always, always found peace near them.