Being the Tiny Bell that Guides Others

I heard this story…Two horses grazed peacefully in a pasture.  Upon closer look, you could see that one horse was blind.  The other, a chestnut mare, wore a tiny bell around her neck.  The bell was there to let the blind horse know where the mare was at all times.  The horse’s owner had chosen not to put the blind horse down, but rather to let him live his best life with the assistance of the chestnut mare.  Every morning and evening, the blind horse could follow the mare to and from the barn.  The blind horse only had to listen and follow the tiny bell that the mare was wearing.  The mare did not have to do anything special.  She just had to be herself.  Her presence and the tiny bell was enough to guide the blind horse in day to day life.

Each of us may be a tiny bell to guide someone.  We may not even know we are doing so.  Like the mare, you don’t have to do anything special, you just have to be who you are.

At Self-Expression Center, we try to mirror the good we see in everyone in classes.  Participants are often surprised at the qualities others acknowledge they possess.  Many times people don’t realize they possess qualities that are valuable to others.  Often, the very gifts people have to give are qualities that are so natural they don’t even know they possess those qualities.  I say that when we are being something, we don’t realize it is valuable to others.  Because we are being it, it does not seem special.  We are not doing anything, just being.

When we are being who we are, we have a tiny invisible bell around our neck that vibrates to the world.  That bell is the thing we give so easily – just like the mare gave her guidance so easily to the blind horse.  Our tiny bell, who we are, can be the very thing that helps guide someone else to live their life more freely.

The hardest thing for people to acknowledge in themselves is their being.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could own the unique qualities of your being that everyone else values in you?