Cavalia

For every little girl who dared to dream of that prince on a white stallion, or of flying free on the back of a galloping horse with her beautiful dress trailing in the wind; for every little boy who ran across open fields with a stick in his hand, dreaming of being an explorer or warrior, or who hid under the bed and lost himself in a storybook of romance and daring; for every lost or lonely child who imagined dancing to music that gave them wings, or whispering into the warm hide of their own horse, its curious breath blowing promises and secrets onto their neck……

This is for you….

There’s a secret place inside each of us, hidden from the world, where every time we have a dream or entertain a heartfelt wish, or even feel a ray of hope or desire for that special something in life to kindle the spirit or arouse the heart, it gets stored away.  No matter how elusive or intangible, or how quickly our conditioning denies or rejects our secret hopes and dreams, this space inside us saves them to become part of our unwritten story.

Most of us are not even aware we do this or where we keep our dreams and wishes locked away.  Most have had them buried deep for too long, or darkened and dulled by pain, grief or stress and the tedious nature of our everyday lives.  As children we dip in and out of this inner treasure trove, a kaleidoscope of the imagination that our hearts know so well how to turn, yet sadly, by the time we reach adulthood, most of us have forgotten how to access that place or even that we ever had such a library of the soul’s joy.

But what if the key was found to unlock that collection of dreams that we have carried forever, and set them free to play?

What happens when you open your heart to release all of the dreams you had as a little girl or boy, together with the wishes you have collected along the way into adulthood….the moments that caused your heart to swell, your dreams to awaken, your spirit to rise up and remember?   And you paint these dreams and memories with colours and light, and set them free to dance to a drum beat and some music?

One word – Cavalia!

There on that stage – the passion, the dance, the music, the colour, and the very art and magic I inhaled, became the keys to unlock the true joy in every cell of my being  – and I exhaled my awakening in the form and grace of Equus.   When human hearts and horse hearts express themselves together, there is an alchemy that releases all the collective dreams of the human soul.   You cannot remain unmoved, you cannot be untouched when held in the vision of a horse.  The thunder of hooves, the beat of a drum, the rhythm of awakened heartbeats, weave together the cadence of life’s journey.  It was so simple and yet so powerfully effective.

As I stepped into the darkness of the tent, my heart quickened.  And fell in time with the drums…. And the lights played seductively across the stage and from the shadows the first horse appeared, with his rider…. And the door to my secret collection of every wish or dream I had ever known, blew wide open.

So I relinquished the world outside and its cares, and I became all I had ever dreamed ….

I stared into a horse’s dark eyes, and became the dream.

I am the manes and tails flying, the eyes flashing and the galloping hooves; I am the beautiful woman in a flowing outfit, scarves and silks swirling, floating through the air, suspended in aerial grace; I am hanging precariously from my charging horse, hair wild in the breeze, freedom in every wave that ripples behind me, divine, feminine power surging before me…I am confident and I am loved …
I am entwined with equine majesty that lifts me high above all else; I am the strong, agile man, leaping onto my horse and smiling with humour as I guide my steed with firm hands and capricious manner…I am the warrior, the cowboy, the lover, the clown … I am the love letters blowing in the breeze behind dashing hooves, the chivalry, the honour … I am the romance, the spark, the passion that sails between hearts on an endless tide…

I am the music, the sweet high notes and the lows, the rise and fall, the longing, the heartsong reverberating in unspoken promises and long forgotten dreams…. I am the tenderness, the connection, the silent language of the spirit that is life’s gift to itself…  All this and more – I become, awakened and released from that dream sanctuary within.  I am the noble hearts of horses dancing with humans like an ancient rite of passage – and in all this, I reclaim what the unforgiving world has almost stolen from me. 

My inner Cavalia is illuminated.   Reflected soul deep in a horse’s eye … I rediscover who I am.