The Cave of Wisdom

Somewhere tucked away in a mountain that isn’t accessible by road or path there is a cave, inhabited by a woman, steadfast and timeless. Her company is in the form of a black dog, who watches her weaving day after day. The woman weaves a garment, the most beautiful one she can imagine. In the back of the cave there is a fire that has been burning since the beginning of time, with a cauldron atop it bubbling away. 

As the old woman nears the end of her weaving she fashions the fringe out of porcupine quills, turning something that causes pain into beauty. But she must get up to stir the cauldron so that it’s contents do not scorch, for it carries all the roots and seeds of the earth, and without her diligence they will burn and perish. While she is gone, the black dog picks at the porcupine quills and tugs at the threads, unraveling the nearly finished garment until it's undone. 

The woman returns to find her creation in chaos, but as she looks at the remnants of her work she sees the opportunity for something even more exquisite. This isn’t the first time it has happened. Since the beginning of time she has been weaving the threads together, only to have them undone, over and over. She sets to work again, to fashion a new garment, even more handsome than the last. And so her work will continue, until the end of time.

I was recently reminded of this Native American story, in the context of how it relates to our current situation. The world seems to be unraveling around us, being pulled apart by that pesky dog. But out of the chaos there’s the opportunity to weave our world back together into something even more exquisite.

And I think it certainly can relate to horsemanship too, given how difficult horses can give you the best opportunities for learning by unraveling what you thought you knew. You can pick up the pieces and create something even more epic than what you imagined when you set out on this journey. 

I guess in a way that makes Kestrel my black dog.