Have you ever had someone say something to you that was just a simple, everyday use of words? But at that exact moment, the words played into your heart and mind, leaving an imprint that would stick with you for the rest of your life? Have you ever had that moment where you silently make an oath to yourself? The kind of oath that you know you would travel to hell and back to keep? That kind of oath that is life-changing, yes, that kind. Now, imagine all of these feelings combined into one moment, and that moment was unforgettable for me.
I had been having a jumping lesson on my cross-bred horse named Simon. It was a windy day out and Simon wasn't exactly the calmest horse you would ever meet. So combining that with the open fields we were practicing in, it was not surprise that he was being jumpy, kicking up his heels and so on.
Due to some of my past experiences in jumping that are better left unsaid, I was very, well, nervous about jumping again. Especially with Simon being so jumpy, and I honestly wouldn't have made it through that fear if it wasn't for my wonderful trainer.
On one particular jump, Simon kept swerving to the side of the jump while throwing his head about snorting. After the third time this happened, my trainers voice rang out behind me to my left: "He's scared and he doesn't know if your there or not! Now, shorten your reins, keep your legs snug on his stomach, look ahead, and ride towards the jump! Remember, your together until the very end!"
That last sentence, 'Your together until the very end!' hit me right down to the marrow of my bones. Mainly because of the core truth of it, applying to my horse just as it did to my friends and family.
I silently swore, the moment that Simon flew over that jump, that someday me and Simon would go places. We wouldn't stay in fields mocking competitions forever, it was time we went out into world, together until which of us dies first.
Thinking back, with some of my friends, family, and to be frank, some of my other animals as well, we had the same agreement. Together until the end. The same exact thing was what exchanged when I sang my faithful old dog to her dying breath. It had just never been pieced into words until that fateful jumping lesson.
How much, that saying applied, and applies, to my life. The hope and trust those words uncovered inside me. How better the world would be if so many others heard and put these words to good use. And, the amazing look into the future I gained from them. So, just remember, sometimes you really need to be, together until the very end.